Premier League side braced for Qatar bid
With Qatar seeking to bolster its influence in global football after hosting last year’s FIFA World Cup, figures from the gulf state’s investment group have held talks with Tottenham Hotspur with a view to acquiring a stake in the Premier League side.
According to The Guardian, figures close to Nasser al-Khelaifi, the head of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and the chairman of French team Paris Saint-Germain, have confirmed that he met with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy in London last week where they discussed a potential QSI minority investment in the club.
Similar reports linking QSI to bids for both Manchester United and Liverpool, who have each invited investment in recent months, are thought to be off the table for now.
The potential move is intricately timed: the pound is currently in a weak position, and Qatar remains at the forefront of football, temporarily at least, after fulfilling its hosting duties last month for the FIFA World Cup which, despite some controversy associated with the event, was largely described as a success, leading figures within Qatar to believe that the time is right to invest in the world’s most popular football league.
However, football rules mandate that QSI will only be permitted to purchase a partial stake in Tottenham due to guidelines dictating that clubs owned by the same entity cannot compete in the same competition.
Both Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham regularly compete in the UEFA Champions League.
Minority stakes, though, are within the rules – with QSI already holding a 22% stake in Portuguese club Braga ahead of any future investments it makes.
While QSI are currently considered to be frontrunners for investment into Tottenham, it is thought that at least two other parties are considering a bid.
Tottenham, who are currently fifth in the Premier League, currently hold large debts in excess of £700 million ($850 million) following the building of the club's 62,000-seater Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which was opened in 2019.
