🚨 JUST IN: Qatar has signalled potential interest in taking a stake in Tottenham Hotspur.
Nasser Al-Khelaifi met with Levy last week, with the pair on good terms.
An offer worth under £1BN for a 25% stake in Spurs was mooted by industry specialists. | @TeleFootball
Qatar has signalled potential interest in taking a stake in Tottenham Hotspur after the nation's most influential sporting chief met with Daniel Levy. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who is also president of Paris Saint-Germain, held talks with the executive chairman last week as the nation weighs up ambitious post-World Cup investment.
Sources close to Levy maintain the pair met only as friends and there were no discussions "regarding equity of the club". However, other insiders suggested the subject may now be raised as Qatar Sports Investments considers the possibility of a new minority stake at a Premier League club.
An offer worth under £1 billion for a 25 per cent stake in Tottenham was mooted by industry specialists as an option, with Al-Khelaifi and Levy said to be on good terms. Representatives for Manchester United are also understood to have tested interest at high levels in Qatar in recent months, but the suggestion at this stage is that Spurs would be a more likely prospect.
One source with knowledge of the situation said it was too early to say whether Qatar would now ask for formal talks with Tottenham. However, the insider added that European sport can expect "strategic acquisitions that are going to be quite bold" from QSI in the coming months.
Over Christmas and New Year, there's a push from senior levels to really go for it at QSI," the insider added. "The suggestion that Qatar is going to pack up and leave after the World Cup has always frustrated BeIN (the Qatari-owned broadcaster), QSI and PSG."
Last October, QSI bought a 22 per cent stake of Portugal’s SC Braga for around £90million. But Doha-based sporting investment arm has since set loftier ambitions to rival that of the multi-club UAE ownership at Manchester City. Prior to the World Cup, there had been minimal interest in Premier League investment but it now seems the mood has changed.
Interest would be limited to a minority investment because Uefa remains opposed to the prospect of teams under the same ownership facing each other in European competition. "It might not be Tottenham but it might be," said the insider over potential interest in Spurs. Al-Khelaifi was said to be acting solely in his role at QSI rather than as head of the European Club Association during the meeting with Levy, who is also a member of the ECA board.
Al-Khelaifi is also known to be in talks with American investors over fresh investment in PSG and BeIN ahead of the World Cup in America in 2026. More than 300 clubs around the world are part of multi-club ownership groups but QSI's only interests are in PSG and Braga. QSI are looking at football investment opportunities around the world.
Despite denials from Tottenham that any investment talk has taken place with Levy, the prospect of significant new funds may appeal to Joe Lewis, the multi-billionaire owner. Antonio Conte has consistently pushed for more significant backing to compete at the top of the table. To help cope with his demands, Lewis injected an extra £150million into the club in May after Enic, the Bahamas-based subsidiary, increased its majority control of the club by about two percentage points.
[Matt_Law_DT]