Blackburn Rovers fans may have had a lucky escape when Ashan Ali Syed failed to pursue a bid for the club last year. His interest faded quickly when he became aware of the scrutiny of financial disclosure rules.
Blackburn Rovers fans may have had a lucky escape when Ashan Ali Syed failed to pursue a bid for the club last year. His interest faded quickly when he became aware of the scrutiny of financial disclosure rules.
Now he has turned up at Racing Santander in Spain’s northern autonomous region of Cantabria. He bought a majority stake in the club for €30m through West Gulf Advisory (WGA), his Swiss-Bahraini investment company. The players are in revolt after he missed four deadlines to pay €1.7m in wages owed to 11 players since last season. Racing have borrowed €2m this month from a source that specialises in arranging loans.
La Liga does not conduct such rigorous checks on prospective owners as the Premier League. WGA had its Bahrain licence suspended by the country’s Industry and Commerce Ministry for ‘violating the laws and regulations’ of the Emirates after multiplying its assets from $64m to $1.2bn in one year. Ali’s command of Spanish is limited to ‘hola’ and ‘gracias’.
Middle Eastern investors continue to show interest in La Liga. Malaga were bought last year by a Qatari businessman and it has reported that Getafe has been acquired by Dubai interests.