Bristol City held takeover talks with Turki Alalshikh, CEO confirms

Tom Rawcliffe, chief executive of Bristol City, has confirmed the club held investment talks with Saudi sports figure Turki Alalshikh, saying any move would have to be the right fit for the club.

Earlier in September 2025 reports claimed Alalshikh was close to buying the Championship side, but the Saudi official took to X to deny those suggestions.

Steve Lansdown, the Bristol-born billionaire, has been the club’s majority shareholder since 1996 and has previously signalled he is open to outside investment — possibly even a full takeover. Rawcliffe said there has been interest from overseas buyers and that the Lansdown family do not intend to be permanent custodians.

“Yes, we had conversations with him [Alalshikh] and we are up for investment but it has to be the right investment,” Rawcliffe told a fans’ forum on 15 October 2025.

Rawcliffe added there has been interest from both US and Middle East backers and reiterated that while the club expects investment at some stage, nothing is imminent.

“It’s no secret that we’re looking for investment whether that is a minority or majority,” he said. “It’s going to happen at some stage but the Lansdown family are not going to be here forever and we’ve got to prepare ourselves. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”

He also stressed the club are “well backed” for now and that although there has been global interest, they have not come overly close to a deal.

Turki Alalshikh, 44, is a Saudi government official who is influential in boxing and has previously been involved in football ownership in Spain and Egypt.

Bristol City sits under the Bristol Sport umbrella along with the Bristol Bears men’s and women’s rugby teams and the Bristol Flyers basketball club. The women’s football side was sold in September 2025 to US investment group Mercury13.

After Alalshikh denied plans to buy Bristol City, sources at Manchester United refuted suggestions he was about to secure investment in the club — a claim Alalshikh later said did not involve him.