Turki Alalshikh thought to have eyes on the Championship club

William Telford Business Editor

21:31, 22 Jun 2025

Turki Alalshikh(Image: Getty Images)

There are reports tonight (June 22) that a super-rich Saudi businessman is eyeing up Bristol City. Turki Alalshikh, often referred to as boxing’s biggest dealmaker, is understood to be interested in buying an English football club and has the Robins on his radar.

The Sun has reported that Alalshikh is looking into a takeover bid for the sleeping giants at Ashton Gate.

Bristol City is owned by the wealthy Lansdown family, who have built the Championship club up, redeveloped the stadium and have not made any indication they want to sell.

But Alalshikh is highly minted and talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan, the former Crystal Palace owner, claimed he had advised Alalshikh to buy Sheffield Wednesday.

But with Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund owning Newcastle United, Alalshikh is now believed to be targeting a club in the south of England and has been linked with Millwall and Southampton.

And now, he may have his sights on Bristol City. Alalshikh is chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, and is considered to have revolutionised boxing.

The 43-year-old’s no-nonsense approach, and financial resources, have seen him arrange some of the biggest fights in the sport’s history, including heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk’s double header with Britain’s Tyson Fury.

Alalshikh has also gone into business with UFC chief Dana White. Israel Adesanya fought Nassourdine Imavov in Riyadh in February this year.

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And the following month it was announced that Alalshikh and White would be launching a new boxing league under the TKO banner. Alalshikh is also interested in professional tennis.

The Saudi chief set up last winter’s lucrative Six Kings event involving stars such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, while Riyadh struck a deal to host the WTA Finals between 2024 and 2026.

Speculation over a potential buy-out has had Bristol City fans excited on social media – but with a mixed reaction.

On the Bristol City FC Supporters Page, on X, some fans were sceptical but others welcomed a potential investor.

One post said: “Go on Turki, stick some fights down the Gate too.” Mark Tripp simply said: “Please no.” And another fan posted: “Been linked with half the Championship by the looks of it, no surprise our name popped up eventually.”

And on the One Team in Bristol web chat, a fan wrote: “No thanks. I’d rather not have that type of money in our football club.”

But another posted: “If this has any legs, then we could actually find ourselves in a very fortunate position. Turki Alalshikh is a very sensible businessman. He has arguably re-launched boxing, giving fans the fights that we want to see.”