What Steve Lansdown has said about selling Bristol City as Turki Alalshikh eyes surprise takeover | OneFootball

Takeover speculation surrounds Bristol City following their play-off semi-final run

Bristol City could be the subject of a takeover in the near future, amid speculation surrounding the ownership.

It was reported this past weekend by journalist Alan Nixon that Saudi Arabian businessman Turki Alalshikh, who has somewhat helped to transform the sport of Boxing in recent years, is considering a bid to purchase the Championship club.

The Robins finished sixth in the Championship table last season, but suffered a 6-0 aggregate loss to Sheffield United in the semi-final stages.

Liam Manning has since departed as head coach, with Gerhard Struber taking his place ahead of the new campaign.

Bristol City are currently owned by the Lansdown family, with Steve Lansdown being chairman of the club since 2002.

What Steve Lansdown has said in regards to a potential Bristol City takeover

Lansdown spoke in February, via the BBC, about the possibility of selling the club, stating that he’s not close to a sale despite talking to people about it.

He warned that any potential takeover will have to be on the right terms, and that he won’t simply sell his stake to anybody as he wants to be sure of the Robins’ long-term health.

"We're not close," Lansdown stated.

"We're talking to a number of people and we've talked to a number of people over time.

"The other thing is the sporting clubs themselves.

“It's either for people to come in and invest alongside us or if people do want to take the whole thing on to be able to do that.

"I'm not going to pass this football club on to somebody who's going to leverage it.

“I've learnt my lessons in football; if you push for the sky and you leverage, you might get away with it.

"Some clubs I know that have, but they nearly went bust in the process while some clubs did go bust - this isn't going to happen to Bristol City."

Lansdown has been involved with Bristol City 1996, but didn’t become chairman until six years later.

The Robins have competed in League One and the Championship during that near 30-year stint, but have been consistently in the second tier for the last decade.

City gained promotion from League One in 2015, clinching the title on their way back to the second tier, and have not steadily competing at that level ever since.

Steve Lansdown offers Bristol City financial update

Lansdown also spoke about the financial situation at Ashton Gate, claiming that they are under control.

He also highlighted how well the club’s finances look despite the massive impact the pandemic had at the start of the decade.

"In the league that we're in and the way we're developing, our finances are far more under control than they've ever been," he continued.

"We forget it but we should count it because it's such a big hole in the accounts which were the Covid years.

"To go from some income - not as much as you'd like it to be - to no income wasn't a great thing but you didn't lose any expenditure.

"I pride myself on the fact that this football club has survived, it's progressed, it's developing, the stadium speaks for itself now, the training ground speaks for itself and the recruitment and playing squad has been solid."

Bristol City earned their best league finish under Manning since 2008, when they last reached the Championship play-offs.

However, the 39-year-old was a popular figure among Robins supporters, but he opted to take on the manager’s position at Norwich City after their loss to Sheffield United.

It remains to be seen whether a takeover involving Alalshikh will go through, with the 43-year-old sniffing around various EFL clubs in recent times.

Ex-Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan revealed last month that during discussions with Alalshikh, he revealed that he was interested in both Millwall and Southampton, with a preference to own a club in the south and not the north of England, and Bristol City are now the latest club to come onto his radar.