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Arab businessman buys Pompey?

I cannot stress enough that nothing has been officially confirmed by Pompey, but according to Arabian Business.com Pompey are being taken over by 'Property tycoon and UN Goodwill Ambassador' Sulaiman Al Fahim.

It is said that Al Fahim has negotiated a deal with Sacha Gaydamak over the purchase of the club, for an undisclosed amount, with the finishing touches put to the deal in Rome - where the Arabian is said to be a guests of Sacha's at the champions league final.

The Falcon Group, the group that negotiated the Abu Dhabi United Group that took over at Citeh last September are said to have structured this deal too, a deal that Al Fahim is said to have been the 'architect' of...

A source close to Ambassador Al Fahim is quoted on arabianbusiness.com as saying: 'he did the Man City deal and got the taste for football. He has followed the Premier League very closely since then, and has been looking for a club to get involved in.

'Portsmouth is a great club, with great history and great potential. It's something he is very excited about, and I am sure all the Portsmouth fans will be equally excited.'

'If' this all comes off the words 'the new owner's first priority will be stabilising the club's current squad, with many players out of contract at the end of this season' are his priority are music to my ears and I pray this all happens - stabilisation is what we need and then consolidation.

This 'source' also said: 'there will also be a lot of emphasis on developing the academy and training facilities. The club has had many great players over the years. The objective is to keep them.'

An official announcement is expected at 5pm today?

Could our problems be about to be made a lot easier...

I do not want 'overpaid' and 'under-trying' mercenaries coming in, consolidation of what we have and youth brought through is exactly what I want along with the training ground and redevelopment of Fratton Park - that is not too much to ask is it?

For the full 'exclusive' from Arabian Business.com click here.

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Writer: pompeyrug

Date:Wednesday May 27 2009

Time: 3:21PM

Your Comments

Rug, I picked this up about an hour ago. Sounds exciting but let's wait and see.

bluedr

We're all holding our breath....could this be the moment we've all been waiting for?!

jonathanl50

its going to be a long hour until 5pm...

SUAC51

Best news so far, let's hope it goes to plan. Maybe he'll sign Messi for us as a proper replacement for Diarra?!!!

storagematt

call me fickle... but how rich is this guy?

pompeycarpet

carpet - you are fickle but it is a very fair question. The one thing about any takeover bid is, has he the money:?

eastneydave

Won't that make for a better summer, no so called 'fire' sale and one in the eye for the press. Then I woke up and came back to reality, I hope it's true but I'm not holding my breath.

Lemmi

a takeover is exactly what the doctor orders - fingers crossed this all comes off...like i said above my main aims from this are:
'I do not want 'overpaid' and 'under-trying' mercenaries coming in, consolidation of what we have and youth brought through is exactly what I want along with the training ground and redevelopment of Fratton Park - that is not too much to ask is it?'...
i 'think' these are realstic targets and think that this is what al fahim will give us?

pompeyrug

where's the news about the 5pm announcement, can't see anything specific apart from 'the next few hours'

stooH

and is this guy still involved at Man City, he's supposedly a director of the company which own them so will he be able to be involved at Pompey (IE Will the FA let him buy us) even if it's a different company that's involved. Conflict of interests and all that...

stooH

sorry, the 5pm part, is just something that was said to me - i cannot say 'for sure' that 5pm will be the time of an announcement, if there is one?

pompeyrug

he doesnt have any involvement at citeh, apparently he just played a part in getting the deal up and running and sorted before 'The Falcon Group' did the rest... no conflict of interests tho.

pompeyrug

The Internet is really buzzing now on this one with him being called a billionaire on some sites. Wikipedia claims he chose Pompey because the Spinnaker Tower is similar to the the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

Apparently the Arabian Business was the source of th news that Citeh were going to Abu Dhabi.

Hold the front page this could be the news we have all been praying for.

eastneydave

Chuffing typcal! I spend weeks rooting around, trying to find out as much as I could, and the one day I choose to spend away from my computer is the day we reportedly 'get sold'! But I SOOOOO hope this is true!

powered_by_pies

Hi Guy's..back in the world of the living after an enforced absence. I finding it hard to stay continent after hearing this news. Just what the Doctor ordered. If it's true I'm gonna have to dig out my old Arabian headgear that I had when working in the middle east years ago. Wow!!!! I really am excited...MUST CALM DOWN>>>>

cornypomp

Got my pinch of salt ready just in case, but bolox are crossed its true!

paultsmouth

Nothing on official site, but they said to expect an annoucement within 24 hrs hope this is true, & if it is expect it tomorrow lunchtime like most, cant wait.

pompeyyong

we might be waiting until tomorrow for official confirmation - but its 'looking' really good...
im not interested in spending millions and billions and being linked to so and so, lets do things right, bring through players bring in a couple and keep the rest and were laughing... oh and get the ground (redveloped not moved!) sorted out and training facilities - then, all being well we can not only develop players, but keep them too.

pompeyrug

If he's going to be watching the match tonight, Man U winning would add even more influence to being in the Prem... Best advertising in the world, and this guy seems to be a savvy advertiser with a really high profile.. Wonder what's gonna be on the shirts???

cornypomp

corny, this is what the arabianbusiness.com said:
'Sources suggest that Ambassador Al Fahim will also use the club’s shirts to promote his anti-malnutrition campaign.'

pompeyrug

we heard rumours of pre-season in dubai for pompey this summer before wigan, this 'ties in' with this being possible now?

pompeyrug

someone somewhere said he would want some anti-malnutrition company on our shirts...

pompeycarpet

I guess they won't be selling them in the XXXL size then???

cornypomp

According to the News it's a done deal!!!!

cornypomp

Journalist Anil Bhoyrul from arabianbusiness.com spoke to Mr Al Fahim earlier today who confirmed that a deal was completed today.

cornypomp

Wow! This looks like its for real - even though 5pm has been and gone. And he's a philanthropist as well, not that I'm saying Sacha's connections were a bit dodgy but . . . Wow - that's all I can say.

tracyc

OFFICIAL ON POMPEY SITE>>>

cornypomp

Much props to Mister Storrie then. He's worked tirelessly for this outcome, and he must be smiling like the Cheshire Cat this evening. I might manage a small smile myself. Hopefully this give us the stability we needed, without making us another MC.

PhilTaglia

Just got in from work and been following this since lunchtime - I got a call from my Man City mate who has a mte on the Daily Mail sports desk - I was so excited I was trying to text Rug while I was on the phone - It was him who said Pompey will announce at 5pm but that obviously never came off, still if this goes through it'll be wonderful but we must guard against over excitement as we really haven't heard what's he's got to say for himself yet .... As for the anti-malnutrition aspect I been campaigning for that (only on a personal basis you understand) for years... 'Eat more Pies' across our shirts will suit me fine !

Chix

As I type it's on the main site .. the man from the daily mail was an hour out ...

Chix

I thought we were being sponsored by International Hotel Groups next year?

stooH

Jeez.. I'm so excited.. now Sven will come .. I told you all Sven will come ... Good shout from Philtaglia.. Uncle Peter has pulled it off see I also told you all to trust him ;)

Chix

StooH - Wasn't that just on the mock up that Squee did and sent around the sites.. my understanding is that that shirt and sponsor are just a wheeze.. could be wrong though...

Chix

Oh I bet Sandra's husband is gutted... He left when he thought we had no money .... shame he has to 'sell to buy' he must bedone to the bare bones..;)

Chix

Its official!!!

tracyc

cornypomp

Yes its true on official site at 17.54 Storrie done the deal tuesday night for sasha, can we keep our england stars now?

pompeyyong

Still reckon Johnson might go .. but wouldn't it be great if we kept Johnson, Crouch, James, Distin, Kranjcar and Mullins .. now there's a backbone of a team if ever there was one !

Chix

If we get sven in as manager, I'll start to get excited. he was seen today in london btw...

pompeycarpet

will we see benji back? sven rated him, we rate him, he rates us... would we want him back?

pompeycarpet

I still can't believe and digest all this. It really is so exciting. Surely it does mean that we'll be able to keep our top players. I can't see this guy wanting a mediocre team. I reckon Johnson will stay.Chix. Do you think Hart will be manager now???

cornypomp

congrats pompey, as a chelsea fan can understand what you're feeling hope it works out for u

ten men

i wonder what harry thinks about this

ten men

HIDDINK FOR MANAGER!!

jonathanl50

LOL

ten men

Woooo I'm really excited but I still don't know what this guy wants to do! Only time will tell I suppose :D

zav

Johnson would be the first player I would try to keep, would cost a lot to replace him & there's no better in the prem.

pompeyyong

The only quote I've seen directly from the new owner is that he wants to develop the ground and the training facilities, and that he notes that Pompey have had a lot of great players over the years. His aim is to keep them. So that's the three main points we would have wanted to hear, I think? Stadium, training facilities, and keeping players?

PhilTaglia

OH MY GOD< I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!

pentonpompey

Oh bloody hell, how good is this? My mate (of the teacloth persuasion) has just phoned me to say one of his mates from Abu Dabi was buying the club. I thought it was a wind up (well it is, he is not his mate really). Well we have had a crap year and we deserve some good luck. It couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people. And if Mr Abu Dabi wants to come round to mine for a cup of tea, I shall tell him so!

Gandor1

Oh Philtaglia - you just said "the new owner"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gandor1

Allah hu akbar! lol

Choard

there is official word on the website but why am i still holding back? how can it all fall apart? i want to relax!!!!!! please say its going ahead!!

ruffcider

Great news! Don't forget though that, if Hart and Kidd hadn't kept us up, this deal would never have happened. We owe them a lot!

Pompey Half Pint

Read all about our new owner on this link :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulaiman_Al_Fahim He's rich rich rich! and loves football!!!

Gandor1

I've heard he does Alan Sugar's role in the Abu Dhabi version of the Apprentice. "Mullins - you're fired!"

tracyc

Its just said on SSN that he looked at Newcastle West Ham and SPUDS to buy!...Ha Ha Ha Sandra's Husband, looks like you premature ejected

pentonpompey

Ronaldo has just told Fergi he expects to be playing his football on the South Coast next season!!!

cornypomp

The more I hear the better it gets, I was hoping that there was a potential new owner waiting to see if we stayed up, I didn't dare hope it was a rich Arab who wants to take the club further. They said on Sky ever since he brokered the deal for Citeh (he was the middle man not one of the owners I believe) its been his dream to buy a small prem club and over a few years build them into something much bigger. We will get our stadium. We will keep our top players. We will get more top players. We will get the training ground. We can start next season from where we left off the season before and build. And apparently he was drawn to Portsmouth because of the Spinnaker Tower looking like that hotel in Dubai.

tracyc

I wonder what colour the air is in a particular big posh house in Sandbanks. Blue perhaps?

tracyc

Oh I do hope so tracyc... this is unbelievable. I wonder what a few of the players are thinking???

cornypomp

still feeling very fickle here. I've seen numbers ranging from 2billion to 500billion for how rich he is. the common theme is around 10x abramovic... to be honest though, I'd be happy if he just kept doing what sasha was doing before the credit crunch.

pompeycarpet

nearly choked on my tea. not been near a radio,tv or pc all day, turn on ssnews for big game news,,,had to go digital for south today bbc 1, and its everywhere....must be the crest that attracted him

plymouth graham

I am pleased for you guys

Yid_from_India

Yeah..I'd go with that carpet. City looked pretty stupid this season just gone after their takeover. Slowly but surely would be nice. Build on what we've got.

cornypomp

Spurs already have a thread running. Someone has said they are wondering if HE will be changing his plans............

Gandor1

Penton is out of his slumber ... Happy now ? ;)
Mullins.. you're fired .. nice one Tracy
10x abramovic - Carps that'll do me ... now who is on the list... Ronaldo... check, Messi... Check, Kaka.. check, Mullins... who?

Chix

no more abuse then yid?......or more abuse?

ruffcider

Just hope that Mr Fahim doesn't take 'him' back! Then again who could we have, Sven, Billic, Mourinho, Ancelotti . . . ?

tracyc

"I am pleased for you guys" Yid from India. No he's not. Go and see what he has written about us on Vital Spurs. 2 faced ********!

Gandor1

yes Gandor, just visited that thread and left my views on his thoughts... my bad maybe!

pompeyrug

We've got a billionaire, you ain't. Chant for next season!!! Wonderful stuff, can we have Diarra back please. GJ going nowhere! The future is very much looking up. Sven still available as a manager?

storagematt

He's just jealous, ignore him.

tracyc

chix - I think the 10x abramovic was probably a massive over guestimate... but anything is good given what I had been predicting this summer!

pompeycarpet

some o@ my keys arent workin...so bear wit@ me. are some people mixin@ @im up wit@ t@e royal @amily o@ UAE?

plymouth graham

Gandor, i am pleased for Portsmouth. What i wrote in the Forum was my Reply to one of my fellow spurs fans saying Harry will be kicking himself.No he will not. He will have a lot of money to work with at tottenham and we are a big club. Is there anything wrong in my statement.

Yid_from_India

Great as it is he is only worth 311 million acccording to the independant...that is not a billionaire..so i would not expect too much in the way of player recriutment. It also means there are plenty of others with more money who could buy spurs..WHU..or Saints- oh yes..this is the wifes laptop, keyboard on this works fine.

plymouth graham

maybe he has richer friends? :-)

pompeycarpet

Yid from India - No wanting to get into a slanging match with you or anyone, I find your attitude offensive. Your being a bigger Club (yes, you have a bigger stadium) or Him kicking himself (trust me, he will be) doesn't really signify. But why would you think all Players would rather play for Spurs over Pompey? Geographically, I suppose, its nearer to the bright lights, but what good is that when He is putting an alchohol ban on the players? Also, if a Player buys a house in say Hindhead (beautiful place to live) he is only 40 minutes from Portsmouth and 40 minutes from the bright lights. Admittedly, Pompey can't offer Champions league football or Europe, but then, neither can you. So what is the big attraction to your club? The Fans? The Manager? Come on, enlighten me, I really want to know.

Gandor1

sorry mate, i did not mean to offend you. i actually quite like pompy. What i meant was that we provide players and maners with a bigger stage than you to perform on as we have more fans and higher expectations. i did not say anything to offend any of the pompy fans. I just made the point that Despite you new found welth Tottenham would be a step up compared to portsmouth for players.

Yid_from_India

Apology accepted. In the past when we have debated who was going where, we always considered Spurs to be a sideways step. Whilst I accept that your stage is bigger than ours, your exposure for your players is no different. We currently have three England Players and two of those were nt playing for England when they came to us. The big European clubs noticed Mntari and Diarra when they were playing for us. To my mind, Portsmouth is a good place to be for players who want to make their mark. Couple this with the fact that we played European football last season, won the FA cup, have a rich new owner with a new stadium and training ground in the pipeline, I would say we have some very nice selling points to entice prospective players to play for us. Naturally, we won't win them all, but outside the top six, I think we have just as much, if not more, to offer any footballer looking to enhance his career. Christ, I sound like the job Centre!

Gandor1

gandor - that has to be the first time I have ever heard anyone refer to Hindhead as being a beautiful place to live.... maybe when the tunnel is finished... but. anyway, that's irelevant. there ARE beautiful places to live around hindhead, that don't have such a busy road running through them...

pompeycarpet

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