Financial journalist Nick Harris has provided a family tree that shows how Sheikh Khaled is related to Man City owner Sheikh Mansour, amid confusion over the Newcastle takeover.
The Sun reported news of the £350m takeover on Sunday, when it claimed that Sheikh Khaled was a cousin of Man City owner Sheikh Mansour,
It also claimed that he was a senior member of the Abu Dhabi royal family
Harris has shown that the two Sheikhs are distant cousins, related through half-brothers, although in a bizarre twist he also claims that Sheikh Khaled’s grandfather murdered Sheikh Mansour’s grandfather in 1926.
He also refuted the claim that he was a senior member of the royal family, stating instead that he is outside the main wing and doesn’t have access to the same financial resources or political clout as Sheikh Mansour.
And here is the family tree in detail, with thanks to @_jonathandc (and others in the UAE who confirmed the research) for putting this together. pic.twitter.com/52SMl6rgO9
— Nick Harris (@sportingintel) May 30, 2019
OPINION
This is a fascinating insight into the background of Sheikh Khaled and it seems to back-up most of what the original Sun report claimed. Later reports claimed the two Sheikhs were brothers and that that could have been a conflict of interest for the Premier League. However, this shows that the two are actually distant cousins which shouldn’t present a problem. However, rather than being a senior member of the royal family, he is outside the main wing and that means that he wouldn’t have the same sort of financial clout as Sheikh Mansour, That would tie in with a quote from a source close to the Bin Zayed Group, who said about player investment if the takeover went through: ‘Fans won’t be disappointed but we will have to manage expectations — we aren’t talking Man City here.’ Friday has been named as a significant day by the Bin Zayed Group as they insist they have done everything required of them, with terms agreed and papers sent to the Premier League.