According to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, Prince Abdullah has a dilemma on his hands on whether or not to stick or twist.
United are in a comfortable position in the league, but if Prince Abdullah was to wait it out on selling the club he could get a much higher offer if the Blades clinched promotion this season.
The purchase price and identity of those behind the bid remain anonymous, for now, but Maguire believes the club is worth £80m-90m as things stand. However, he also feels Prince Abdullah could command much more than that if they were in the Premier League.
Interestingly, in the summer American businessman Henry Mauriss failed to pay a deposit fee for United which he is now being sued for. The deposit fee was £10M. As a general rule, most deposits are usually 10% of the overall amount, which equates to a £100M offer that Prince Abdullah accepted.
My Verdict
This fits in close with Maguire’s estimation of £80M-£90M. But with Sheffield United battling it out with Burnley for the top spot in the league, he could demand slightly more.
Prince Abdullah invested in upgrading the first-team pitches at Shirecliffe, in excess of £2M. The Saudi Arabian Prince bought a valuable asset in Anel Ahmedhodzic in the summer for a fee in excess of £4M.
I’m no financial expert, but considering the general rule of a 10% deposit fee, Prince Abdullah may have accepted an offer of £100M from Henry Mauriss in the summer, before investing more money into the club.
With all of that in mind, I believe Prince Abdullah will be looking to sell the club for £100M-£115M