Bristol City told to swerve Saudi billionaire takeover - It's "the worst thing that could happen" | OneFootball

FLW's Bristol City fan pundit has given his verdict on the speculation surrounding a potential takeover at Ashton Gate

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bristol City could be set for a takeover amid reports of interest from Saudi Arabia figure Turki Alalshikh.

It was reported by Alan Nixon this past weekend that the 43-year-old has emerged as a potential buyer for the Championship club.

Alalshikh is a member of the Saudi Royal Court and is heavily involved with the nation's work with both boxing and golf, holding the title of General Minister for Entertainment.

It remains to be seen whether the Lansdown family would be willing to cash in their stake in the club at this stage, with the team recently reaching the play-offs.

Steve Lansdown has been involved with the club since 1996, including taking on the role of chairman in 2002.

Bristol City takeover verdict

When asked about this potential investment in the club, FLW’s Bristol City fan pundit Tom Sandy outlined the reasons why he is against a change in ownership.

He has praised the current owners, and believes that investment from Saudi Arabia is not needed to take the Championship side to the next level.

“I would be so disappointed,” Sandy told Football League World.

“I think this is probably the worst thing that could happen to my club at this point in time.

“Obviously, I really like our owners at the moment, Steve Lansdown and Jon Lansdown, the Lansdown group, what they’re doing, I think they’re supporters of the club — Jon definitely is, Steve is a Bristol boy.

“The high performance centre, the stadium, the investment that’s been put in is brilliant, behind the scenes, [Steve] forks out money every year to keep us afloat financially and I don’t think you could ask for much more.

“And when you compare that to the potential investment of the Saudi regime, obviously there are financial benefits, and the fact that they’ll be backed by the whole country, really.

“Ethically, it is pretty much the worst thing that could happen, and I would find it really difficult to support a team if a deal like this happened, massively.

“I’m massively against all Saudi-backed clubs, sports-washing as a whole.

“I’m massively against LIV golf, I’m massively against supporting teams like Man City and PSG, the Saudi-backed teams.

“They are obviously there to try and shine a good light on Saudi Arabia and distract from what is going on in that country.

“And I’m just massively against it, as a whole, and I don’t think it’s exciting at all, and I think it really takes away from anything being built.

“I think it takes away from the culture of the club.”

Turki Alalshikh doubts

Sandy has raised concerns over Alalshikh’s work in boxing, suggesting he would not like to see him become involved with Bristol City.

“In terms of Turki himself, I’ve seen complaints from boxing fans that he doesn’t really understand how to promote boxing,” he continued.

“The way he does it, he stacks his cards on top of one another, he has all the big fights on the same night to make one grand spectacle.

“But I think some people think it takes away from the sport as a whole.

“I don’t think the investment is needed for us to get to the next level, I think it makes it disingenuous, if we were to get promoted, because of being backed by Saudi Arabian group.

“I don’t like it at all.

“I don’t know what I’d do if they came to Bristol City.”

Lansdown family are bringing Bristol City in the right direction

Bristol City reached the Championship play-offs for the first time since 2008, highlighting the good work that’s currently being done at the club.

Supporters will likely back the Lansdown family to remain at the helm given the positive trajectory the team is on under their ownership.

They bring a stability to Ashton Gate that many other clubs would enjoy, and have earned a reputation within the game as a positive force for their team.

Any takeover risks upsetting that stability, regardless of who is involved, so it’s understandable that fans would prefer to see the Lansdown family remain in charge for the time being.