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Derby were promoted to the Championship at the end of the 2023-24 season under Clowes\u2019 ownershipPaul Childs\/Reuters<\/p>\nThe man behind Saudi Arabia\u2019s takeover of boxing wants to buy Derby County.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is understood that the English Football League and the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) are aware of Turki Al-Sheikh\u2019s interest in the Championship club, but both organisations declined to comment when approached by The Times.<\/p>\n
Al-Sheikh is an adviser in Saudi Arabia\u2019s royal court and serves as the head of the General Entertainment Authority. The 44-year-old has flooded boxing with unprecedented riches under the \u201cRiyadh Season\u201d banner, staging multiple bouts involving Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the Saudi capital, along with bankrolling stadium fights on British soil.<\/p>\n
Derby were promoted to the Championship at the end of the 2023-24 season under Clowes\u2019 ownershipPaul Childs\/Reuters<\/p>\n
Al-Sheikh will have to demonstrate to the IFR that the source of any takeover\u2019s funding was separate to the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Newcastle United.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The IFR was established\u00a0in 2025 to protect the sustainability of English football. All new owners, directors and senior directors in the top five divisions must submit to necessary checks and gain approval before taking up their post. As part of those checks a\u00a0club or shareholder must be able to prove that it cannot exert influence over multiple clubs in the same competition.<\/p>\n
Derby and a representative for Al-Sheikh declined to comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derby finished eighth in the Championship last season, missing out on the play-offs by four points. David Clowes, a property developer and boyhood fan, spent \u00a355million to take the club out of administration in 2022. Clowes paid \u00a333million to purchase the club, which included \u00a319.7million paid to creditors, while a separate \u00a322million deal also covered purchasing Pride Park Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clowes is reported to have previously entertained discussions about selling a majority stake in the club but wanted to remain involved in a boardroom capacity. That could be a preferable arrangement for the Saudi government minister, who can inject significant capital that would allow the club to vie for Premier League promotion while limiting his day-to-day involvement.<\/p>\n
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Derby finished this season four points outside the play-offs and haven\u2019t been in the Premier League since the 2007-08 seasonSteven Paston\/PA<\/p>\n
Al-Sheikh, who recently followed a number of Derby-aligned accounts on social media, was previously linked with an approach for fellow championship side Bristol City last year.<\/p>\n
Al-Sheikh is a Manchester United supporter and formerly owned Egyptian football club Pyramids and UD Almer\u00eda in Spain, but boxing has been his chief priority in recent years. After working with British promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, Al-Sheikh co-founded Zuffa Boxing with UFC chief executive Dana White in June 2025. The PIF also acquired a minority share in the streaming service DAZN, which has exclusive broadcast deals with several promoters and has effectively granted Al-Sheikh a significant stronghold over the sport.<\/p>\n
Al-Sheikh\u2019s reported $10million purchase of the historic Ring Magazine has also bought him influence over the boxing media \u2014 albeit not without controversy. Rival publications that have been critical of Saudi Arabia\u2019s involvement in boxing have previously been denied accreditation to fights, including Daniel Dubois\u2019 victory over Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Al-Sheikh with Joshua and Cristiano Ronaldo at Fury v Usyk in May 2024Nick Potts\/PA<\/p>\n
Al-Sheikh is known to have a close bond with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, having met the future ruler before his ascendance to power. \u201cHe has been there since the beginning in the innermost circles and supported the crown prince in difficult moments to push through his transformation of the kingdom,\u201d Kristin Diwan, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told The Times in 2023<\/a>. \u201cHe relishes the limelight and a role in political combat when needed, so he is a fitting personality to be in boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n If the investment proceeds, it would further expand Saudi Arabia\u2019s influence on global football. The PIF\u2019s purchase of Newcastle in 2021 was followed by an extraordinary campaign of spending that brought the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Jordan Henderson to the Saudi Pro League.\u00a0<\/p>\n