Bristol City takeover news: Truth on Saudi bids, Steve Lansdown stance | OneFootball

All the latest regarding Bristol City's proposed takeover, as Turki Alalshikh was linked with a deal

Murmurs about a potential Bristol City takeover, full or partial, have been taking place for close to half a decade now.

Steve Lansdown has been the owner of the Bristol Sport Group since 2012, but in 2021 announced his intentions to find outside investment to help the club move forward off the field.

Since then, whilst no deals have been made, the Robins have progressed massively. Work on the new 'Sporting Quarter' near Ashton Gate will begin later this year, and on the pitch, a first Championship play-off campaign in 17 years has made them a good-looking asset.

Here's all the latest surrounding the potential outside investment in the club.

Turki Alalshikh investment rumours "pure speculation," according to club director

Journalist Alan Nixon reported last Sunday (September 14th) that Saudi Arabian boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh was preparing a bid to buy Bristol City from the Lansdown's.

With Alalshikh's reported net worth being set at $2.8 billion, the boxing promoter is one of the richest, most powerful people on the planet, and talks about him putting a part of that value into Bristol City was rather exciting.

However, Bristol Sport Group CEO and club director Gavin Marshall has since told BBC Radio Bristol that this is "pure speculation."

"Since Steve's been open about looking for investment, we've had a lot of speculation around different interested parties," he said.

So, it doesn't look like the 28-year association between Steve Lansdown and Bristol City will be up just yet, although the speculation should still be something which can make Robins fans excited about the club's future.

Steve Lansdown still open to new investment - but nothing is close just yet

The last interview Steve Lansdown did with the BBC in February 2025 stated that Bristol City are "not close" to a potential takeover, and there's been nothing since which would suggest otherwise.

That interview, conducted earlier this year, was the first that Lansdown had done since 2023, and whilst there'll be hopes that there won't be another two-year wait until we hear from him again, it reinforces the fact that this muted approach isn't out of the ordinary.

Given the club's current position, there's a big focus on ensuring that the next owner has the right intentions and will be coming up with the right deal for the club's future. As of now, there isn't a massive rush to proceed with things, with Bristol City currently enjoying a period of challenge in the Championship play-offs.

However, the last we know is that the club is still up for new investment, so consistent speculation and talks will likely continue until a concrete offer is made.

Complications surrounding the part-sale or new investment into Bristol City arose mainly due to the club being under the Bristol Sport Group umbrella, which also housed the women's football side, the Bristol Bears' rugby teams and the Bristol Flyers basketball side.

However, after the Lansdown's secured a sale of the Bristol City women's football team to Mercury13, chatter about a similar purchase of the men's side was getting louder, especially given the reports surrounding Turki Alalshikh's supposed interest.

Gavin Marshall muted those murmurs, saying that the only takeover deal which was concrete was that of the WSL 2 side, but he added that: "Steve is looking for investment who can take the club forward," something which Mercury13 can do for the women's side.

The takeover of Bristol City Women has affirmed the idea that, if the price and intent are right, Steve Lansdown will be open to dropping his majority ownership. Perhaps it will only be a matter of time before something similar happens on the men's side.