Sheffield United: Legal dispute between Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah over ownership explained
With a court verdict expected within two weeks, Sky Sports News looks at the background behind the bitter dispute around ownership at Sheffield United.
After six weeks of evidence, Mr Justice Fancourt will soon give his verdict in the battle between Blades co-owners Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Kevin McCabe, drawing an end to a case that has lasted several weeks.
The two have been in business together since 2013, when Sheffield-born McCabe agreed to sell half of the club’s shares to Prince Abdullah – the grandson of King Abdulaziz, founder of modern Saudi Arabia.
Here, SSN takes a look at the details behind the dispute, what has been happening in court, and what we can expect will happen in the next few days…
Background
In September 2013, after 25 years on the Sheffield United board, owner Kevin McCabe sold 50 per cent of the then-League One club to Saudi royal Prince Abdullah for the modest fee of £1 – but with the promise of providing „substantial new capital“.
With each man struggling to finance the club, the two owners’ already frayed relations broke down 18 months ago, when McCabe first – and the Prince second – launched bids to take full control. In December 2017, McCabe activated a clause with an offer to buy Prince Abdullah’s half of the club for £5m – but under the terms of their agreement, this also gave the Prince the chance to buy out McCabe for the same price.
However, by owning more than 75 per cent of the club, Prince Abdullah would be forced to buy the stadium and training ground from McCabe. The Prince accepted the deal, but dodged the need to buy the properties by setting up a separate company to own some of the club – leading the two owners towards the High Court.
Despite the chaos behind the scenes, Chris Wilder’s team have been promoted twice in three seasons, culminating in May in their return to the Premier League for the first time in 12 years.
The court case
In the past few weeks, the High Court has heard how Prince Abdullah was loaned £3m by Saudi businessman Saleh Bin Laden at a time when he was short of cash. Meanwhile, McCabe’s legal team claim the money was a bribe to curry favour with the Prince, who at the time was the sports minister in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, McCabe was accused of being a liar and a bully, who ignored the Prince’s representatives at Bramall Lane. The Prince claimed he unable to afford to buy the stadium and training ground, and was therefore being forced to sell his half of the club on the cheap, at a time when they were finally doing well financially.
What is clear is that the top-flight Sheffield United outfit that the Prince owns now is worth a great deal more than the club he bought half of for just £1 back in 2013.
What happens next
In April, McCabe told Sky Sports News that if he wins full control, he will sell the club to a waiting consortium – which is based in the United States, SSN understands.
However, it is feared manager Wilder will leave if the Prince wins the legal dispute. Wilder’s philosophy is poles apart from the Prince’s desire to bring in talent to Bramall Lane from all over the globe, and if the latter wins, it is thought this will lead up to an influx of foreign talent, co-ordinated by club director and renowned Belgian coach Jan van Winckel.
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