Tottenham Hotspur has been added to the list of English football clubs potentially on the shopping list of rich new owners, according to reports claiming Qatar could make a move for the London club or either Manchester United Plc (NYSE:MANU) or Liverpool.
The North West football powerhouses are both presently up for sale, while Bloomberg cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) has held talks with Spurs chair Daniel Levy.
QSI is the sports investment arm of the Qatari government. It owns Paris Saint Germain (PSG) along with other investments in football and other sports. The rumoured interest in the Premier League clubs comes just weeks after the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which the middle-eastern state viewed as a success.
Bloomberg, in its report, said QSI is considering buying a stake in one of England's top Premier League clubs with Manchester United, Liverpool FC, and Tottenham Hotspur among those being targeted.
An outright takeover of a club would be complicated by UEFA rules blocking the ownership of multiple clubs in the same competition – which, given its position in Paris would be a problem for European cup tournaments.
While Bloomberg reported that QSI is considering a full takeover, the state-owned organisation stated via Twitter that it is only looking at minority stakes as it does not plan to sell PSG.
Spokespeople for QSI, as well as a Tottenham spokesman, refused to comment further on the matter. Similarly Manchester United and Liverpool FC also refused to comment, the news report said.
Qatar is estimated to have spent over US$200bn on infrastructure as part of its World Cup project over the past decade, building new stadiums and entire new cities.
It has also invested in sports interests including the purchase and funding of Paris Saint-Germain and Portuguese league club SC Braga, in which it bought a minority 21.67% stake, and the development of its international sports broadcast firm beIN Media Group which is host to Richard Keys and Andy Gray – plus during the Word Cup it had a pundit team comprising Gary Neville, John Terry and Arsene Wenger.
** Update: adds detail **