The Nigerian businessman trying to buy Sheffield United is ready to abort the takeover despite spending more than £8 million to support the Sky Bet Championship club through their current financial crisis.
On a day when local reports in Yorkshire said senior figures
at Bramall Lane were now looking elsewhere for investment, sources close to
Dozy Mmobuosi said there had been a major breakdown in his relationship with
the current Saudi owner, Prince Abdullah.
In fact, the situation could now end in a bitter legal
dispute given the money Mmobuosi has already paid to show his commitment to the
deal and help resolve the financial issues that resulted in a transfer embargo
being imposed by the English Football League (EFL).
Mmobuosi and Prince Abdullah shook hands on a £115 million
deal at the Dorchester Hotel in London on November 22, 2022, with Mmobuosi
underlining his commitment by making a £1 million payment to the Saudi
businessman.
Sources close to Mmobuosi claim he then paid a further £6.5
million to the club’s parent company, United World, shortly before Christmas to
save them from administration.
Further to that, Prince Abdullah is said to have asked for
another £1.2 million to assist in settling a tax bill with HMRC in January.
In the meantime, Mmobuosi has been the subject of the EFL’s
owners’ and directors’ test. Last month he met the EFL at their headquarters in
Preston and, while no reason was found to disqualify the Nigerian, he had not
yet met all the necessary financial criteria. In February the EFL stated that
while “it was in receipt of some evidence of source and sufficiency of funding,
it has previously raised a number of additional queries”.
The period of exclusivity granted to Mmobuosi as part of the
deal with Prince Abdullah has now lapsed, amid accusations and
counter-accusations that certain aspects of the agreement had been breached.
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