Pakistan-born billionaire Shahid Khan proposed deal to buy English top flight outfit Fulham Football Club (Fulham FC) was approved by the Barclays Premier League on Friday.
Khan, who already owns the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars in the US, has been in talks with Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed for several days and the pair struck an agreement that will put the West-London team under new ownership for the first time in 16 years, and most importantly, debt-free.
The transaction, reported to have cost Khan around £150 million, has been approved by the Premier League and the tycoon assumes 100 per cent ownership of the club, with a press conference scheduled for lunch time on Saturday to officially introduce the new Cottagers supremo.
"Al Fayed is giving me the privilege and responsibility of serving as the next custodian of Fulham Football Club," Khan told the club's website.
"I am extremely honoured to accept and want to thank him, on behalf of everyone who loves Fulham, for 16 years of exceptional service to the Club. Al Fayed rescued the club in its hour of need and has led it to a sustained place within the Premier League.
"Fulham is the perfect club at the perfect time for me. I want to be clear, I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham, but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans.
"My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future that fans of present and future generations can be proud of.
"We will manage the club's financial and operational affairs with prudence and care, with youth development and community programs as fundamentally important elements of Fulham's future."
Khan, who was born in Lahore but now has American citizenship, is ranked 179th in the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans with an estimated worth of $2.5 billion after making his fortune as a car parts manufacturer.
The 62-year-old, the first non-American to own a NFL franchise, already has ties to London, with the Jaguars scheduled to play one regular season game a season at Wembley for the next four years.
In 1967, at the age of 16, Khan left his native Pakistan for the United States and the opportunity to study engineering at the University of Illinois.
Khan struck it rich when he purchased Flex-N-Gate, a car parts supplier, and built it into a global leader that now employs more than 16,000 people at 52 manufacturing and nine product development and engineering facilities throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Spain.
Al Fayed, the 84-year-old former Harrods owner, had transformed Fulham from a third-tier outfit to an established Premier League side since taking over in 1997.
Off the field, training facilities have improved markedly and Craven Cottage has been revamped, with planning permission in place to redevelop the Riverside Stand and increase the stadium's capacity to 30,000.
The club is also effectively debt-free after Al Fayed converted previous loans into equity earlier this year.
But the Egyptian was keen to step down and Khan has taken advantage of the chance to expand his sporting portfolio.
"My time of serving as the custodian of Fulham Football Club would one day come to an end, and I feel that time has now arrived," Al Fayed said.
"The time is right because I have found a very good man in Shahid Khan to accept the responsibility and privilege that I have enjoyed at Fulham since 1997.
"Fulham will be in very good hands with Shahid, whose success in business and passion for sport is very evident.
"I ask everyone who loves Fulham and our Craven Cottage home to welcome Shahid as he begins his journey as the next guardian of Fulham Football Club."
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@unbelievable: Hate to break your bubble but the Khan success story is all about America not Pakistan
Wrong, the Khan success story is all about Pakistani-born people making achievements abroad. Just like you Indians love to own anything done by overseas Indians. Hypocrisy?
His name was Zeeshan Rehman and he played for the Pakistani national team. He was a center back. From there he moved to norwich. after that I don't know.
@Ismail: Zeshan Rehman is a British-born Pakistani, he plays International football for Pakistan!
@Deepak: Who cares about Blackburn? Never even heard of them.
@Ismail: Zeeshan Ismail was born in Birmingham to Pakistani parents and since he had Pakistani heritage, he later played for the Pakistani national football team.
@JK
Hate to break your bubble but the Khan success story is all about America not Pakistan.
@ Hamza, Zeeshan Rehman was born in Birmingham
You indians are commenting in this site for no reason, no one is asking about venkies and BlackBurn Rovers and no one cares.. we are talking about a Pakistani-origin Shahid Khan and this article don't have any link to Venky's and BlackBurn Rovers so please Sushh...
AND FYI FULHAM IS THE ONLY CLUB WHERE A PAKISTANI-BORN PLAYER ZEESHAN AHMED PLAYED FOR ENGLISH-PREMIER LEAGUE AND HE IS ALSO THE FIRST AND ONLY SOUTH ASIAN WHO HAS PLAYED FOR ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE.
@ Rashid, the inferiority complex is STRONG. Well even if he doesnt, Venkys are definitely Indians, and they are well loved in Blackburn.
Hope this makings you happy.
Before becoming too happy, first ask him whether he considers himself a Pakistani or not ?
Venkies is more successful than Mr Khan. All Blackburns loves venkies :-)
It's always nice to hear something positive about Pakistan..good luck with your aims shahid khan.
Fulham wow. all the best shahid. please promote something in Pakistan we desperately need your support to encourage all our sports
Congrats to Khan. A real American dreamer.
Mohamed Al Fayed was a legend for fulham. Shahid Khan:
""Fulham is the perfect club at the perfect time for me. I want to be clear, I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham, but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans,"
Great Approach.
Unlike Venkys, they destroyed blackburn with their mismanagement. Jack Walker would be turning in his grave. Same with the likes of Ahsan Ali Syed, go and look at what he did with Racing Santander, in Spain they know him as "El Bernie Madoff de la India".