Comment from a Star reader:
Ramon Mohamed ·
Sheffield
"I have followed Sheffield United since the 1970s and as I write I am a season ticket holder and to put some context in to this post my wife is Saudi and I worked in Saudi Arabia from 2010-2016.
During this time I followed two football clubs in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Al Hilal and Al Nassr. Two clubs that the Prince was involved in. I spoke to some of the fans about the Prince and Sheffield United and they informed me that at their respective clubs he sold on most of the best players and made a handsome profit from the clubs and left. The royals have a habit of owning clubs in Saudi Arabia which have been badly managed.
I have also read local media reports in my home city of Sheffield that the Prince has spoken of himself as a self made millionaire. My knowledge of the House of Saud is that all Prince's are not born poor but have vast's amounts of wealth given to them procured from the sale of oil. So he's not been entirely truthful. Yes, he's invested his wealth but he certainly is not self-made and being royal, connections in high places helps.
Also the Prince has hardly spent anytime watching Sheffield United and as not much idea about the history and culture of the club and what the club means to ordinary fans like myself. He's hardly attended any meetings at the club.
The Prince also, as we know, became the Saudi Youth Sports Minister. However, during that time he spent most of his time in his Los Angeles mansion. So no commitment there then!
I for one have my reservations and have come across to many consultants in Saudi Arabia like Jim Phipps who are only there for the wealth that they themselves can accumulate at the expense of the local population.
I might be wrong but if you follow the news the House of Saud is at war with itself and if we are not careful, my club Sheffield United in some indirect way, may become part of the spoils of that fall-out."
Pinch of salt article, pig fan perhaps, but a couple of interesting points