Dubai, July 21: Abu Dhabi billionaire Sulaiman al-Fahim said on Tuesday he has completed a deal to buy English Premier League club Portsmouth FC.
When asked by Reuters if a deal had been completed, Fahim said: “Yes, you will hear in a couple of hours.”
Dubai-based magazine Arabian Business reported in an unsourced report on Tuesday that Al-Fahim has been given approval from the Premier League to take over and would officially become chairman later on Tuesday.
The magazine said the official announcement is due to be made at the club at around 10am UK time.
Fahim, along with a group of investors, have been in talks to complete a deal to buy Portsmouth for several months.
Soccer, viewed as a high profile and glamorous industry, is being targeted for investment by Gulf Arab firms as Western investors tighten their belts in the global economic slowdown.
The United Arab Emirates is the world’s third-largest oil exporter and the capital Abu Dhabi controls 90 percent of the country’s oil reserves.
—-Agencies