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Self-sufficiency is the aim of Blades' owners

The group that owns Sheffield United has a very different philosophy to that of City Football Group with its globalising strategy based on the ownership of multiple clubs across the world.

United World is the owner of Sheffield United, Beerschot, Kerala United and Al Hilal United. Board member Jan Van Winckel, Marcelo Bielsa’s former right-hand man at Olympique Marseille, is confident all clubs can become sustainable.

Prince Abdullah bin Mosa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the owner behind the football group and according to Van Winckel his approach to a multiple-club ownership model is very different to City Football Group and others.

“The investments are based on the idea that each club can become self-sufficient in the future. That’s aligned with what we have always opposed, namely, that a club dependent on a Maecenas will always fade,” Van Winckel told offthepitch.com


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