EFL owner slams Turki Alalshikh after shock Derby County takeover U-turn | OneFootball

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony is not a fan of what Turki Alalshikh has done with Derby County

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has tore into Saudi billionaire sports mogul Turki Alalshikh after he pulled out of a deal to purchase a large stake in Championship outfit Derby County.

The Rams announced via social media on August 10 that the expected financial injection from Alalshikh - which was at the Independent Football Regulator checks stage in recent weeks - would no longer be going ahead, with the Middle Eastern businessman no longer wishing to proceed with the deal.

It came as a massive shock to County fans who were long anticipating some more transfer funds being available for John Eustace to strengthen his squad, and it of course is not the first time that a prospective new owner has seemingly wanted to come into the club and make a change - only for it to either fall through or for them to be proven inadequate.

Darragh MacAnthony reacts to Turki Alalshikh, Derby County twist

One person who hasn't reacted well to the news that Derby's takeover has not gone through is the aforementioned MacAnthony, who has seen a lot in his 20 years as the owner and chairman of Peterborough, and he can feel the frustration from Derby owner David Clowes.

"I can imagine they've done a lot of planning around this, I'm sure the manager was kept briefed, maybe it's affected how they do transfers this summer, because if you're in talks to sell a share of your club, there's restrictions on what players you can sell, money you can spend, because that changes the dynamics of a deal," MacAnthony told talkSPORT.

"My only hope for Derby's case and the owner that he had a nice, hefty deposit that he gets to keep, because Turki Alalshikh deserves to lose whatever deposit he had put in if he has done it that way, but I don't know the terms of the SPA and the overall agreement that was signed a good few months ago.

"Usually when you sell, it's subject to approval, and there's a deposit in escrow, and obviously if everything goes to plan and then they pull out for whatever reason, for no legitimate reason, then you get to keep a hefty deposit.

"It's disappointing. If I was the Derby owner, I'd feel gutted, but this happens.

"Robbie Cowling, a pal of mine who owns Colchester, it's happened to him a couple of times, he's been left at the altar, he's worked hard for nine, 10 months, the recent takeover there and it fell through, and it's usually down to terms getting thrown in to change the deal, all sorts of things.

Turki Alalshikh blame issued as FA and IFR defended over Derby County takeover collapse

In Alalshikh's personal statement shortly after the takeover was announced as over, reference was made to the amount of time the Independent Football Regular process took, and that completing a deal now would give little time to prepare for the rest of the season.

However, as per John Percy of The Telegraph, approval was given by the IFR on August 5, but now for whatever reason, Alalshikh changed his mind on the deal - MacAnthony thinks that Clowes has every right to be annoyed with what's gone on, but blame cannot be attributed to the EFL and the IFR for the processes in place.

"Super-frustrated - I'd come out and go 'buzz off', with all due respect," MacAnthony said.

"I don't know the guy, I see what everyone else sees with the money that's going into boxing, I don't know if it's his money or someone else's money, I don't know what was happening with the takeover - if it was approved, he's obviously a wealthy man, he obviously has no issue whatsoever, I'm sure he'd have a lot of fun if he bought a football club, but really, say what you mean and mean what you say and back it up.

"I don't think the EFL or the regulator should be criticised for this. They've obviously done the process and done it well.

"The biggest criticism in the past with rogue owners is that they've been allowed to buy into clubs, people with no money and all those things that have happened. We've seen it, there's a long, ugly laundry list. We can't criticise any of the governing bodies for the approval.

"I think Turki needs to come out and be honest. Did you lose interest? Did you wake up one day and go 'I don't want to own a football club'? Has he spoken to previous clubs and gone down this route?

"And the problem for him is going to be, every time he now tries to approach a club, you're going to be warned, you're going to be like 'hang on a second, I get you've got money', but if he rang me, I'd be like 'I get you've got money, but I ain't got time to waste, when you're going to spend three or four months and then use all the publicity and then suddenly pull out at the last minute."

Derby County have had experience with time-wasters - Turki Alalshikh is the latest

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It's only been four years since Derby were rescued by lifelong fan and local businessman Clowes ahead of the 2022-23 League One season, with the club having been in administration for nearly a year prior to his deal being struck with Quantuma.

They were messed around by disgraced US businessman Chris Kirchner, firstly when he pulled out of his planned pursuit of ownership at Christmas 2021, and then again in June 2022, two months after he was named as preferred bidder - it turned out for the best, given he was jailed two years later for 20 years on fraud charges.

Prior to the administration, Erik Alonso was another person who failed to takeover the club when his funding couldn't be proven, and it's a real relief that Clowes came around to save the day when he did, and he's led Derby back into the Championship and challenging for the play-offs within a short period of time, which has to be commended.

Clowes has made no secret though of his desire to find external investment to relieve the load from his shoulders, and when Alalshikh arrived as a potential partner, he probably thought all his Christmases had come at once.

Sadly though, it's proven not to be once more, and there can be no blame attatched to Clowes, or the fact he now has Derby not up for sale given what's transpired - Alalshikh has owned clubs before in Spain and Egypt so he wasn't going to be entering the deal as a novice, but for whatever reason, and there may be more that he has not revealed, he did not fancy being owner of the Rams anymore, and it's not likely he will be invited to Pride Park as a guest anytime soon.