Nigerian’s bid to buy Sheffield United appears to be in tatters
The Nigerian entrepreneur, who discovered that Prince Abdullah is ready to ‘move on’ from their discussions and begin instigating plans for next season, has yet to officially withdraw his interest
Nigerian Dozy Mmobuosi’s attempt to buy Sheffield United was described as being in tatters despite the Nigerian businessman agreeing a price for the club with its present owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud last year.
The Star understands the two men, whose relationship is thought to have become increasingly fraught in recent weeks, negotiated a deal which would have seen United change hands for a fee understood to be £115m five months ago.
The Nigerian entrepreneur, who discovered that Prince Abdullah is ready to ‘move on’ from their discussions and begin instigating plans for next season, has yet to officially withdraw his interest but one independent expert within the game claimed it is “very difficult to envisage a scenario whereby things can be resurrected” given recent developments.
Prince Abdullah granted Mmobuosi a period of exclusivity, designed to prevent him from considering bids from rival investors, when their discussions began to gather pace earlier this term.
That has now expired, meaning Mmobuosi is no longer the only individual or party the Saudi Arabian can meet to discuss acquiring either a partial or controlling interest in United, who will be promoted to the Premier League if they beat West Bromwich Albion tonight.
Although the English Football League has yet to sanction his takeover, with Mmobuosi meeting representatives from the governing body last month in an attempt to satisfy their demands, the 43-year-old is said to have made at least two payments to United totalling nearly £10m.
One of these, believed to be of around £6.5m, was handed over just before Christmas. Mmobuosi’s inner circle suspect this helped United retain the services of Iliman Ndiaye, their Senegal international, during the January window despite receiving at least one concrete bid from a top-flight team.
