Manchester City’s new owner tops soccer rich list
MANCHESTER City’s new owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, has been crowned the richest man in British football.
The Sheikh, a member of the royal family of the oil-rich Arab state of Abu Dhabi, bought the Premiership football club in August from former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for a reported £220m and immediately splashed out £32m on Brazilian forward Robinho, smashing the British transfer record.
He has an estimated personal fortune of £15bn, according to the Football Rich List published in FourFourTwo magazine.
Chelsea’s Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich slips down to third in the table, behind Sheikh Mansour and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who part-owns London club QPR.
Everton shareholders Lord Grantchester and the Moores family are at eighth in the table with a combined fortune of £1.2bn, while Manchester United’s owner Malcolm Glazer is placed at joint 10th with a fortune of £1.1bn.
Lancashire tycoon Trevor Hemmings, the owner of Blackpool Tower, and a major shareholder in promotion-chasing Preston North End is at number 13 with an estimated £900m fortune.
Tom Hicks, one of the two American owners of Liverpool is ranked at 16, with a fortune of £700m, while the Walker Family, which controls Blackburn Rovers is nest in line with £660m.
North West businessman Steve Morgan, who founded housebuilder Redrow, completes the top 20, with an estimated £400m haul.
