Sheffield United 'sale' price and payments revealed as Dozy Mmobuosi's dream appears to be in tatters

The Star understands the two men, whose relationship is thought to have become increasingly fraught in recent weeks, negotiated a deal which would have seen United change hands for a fee understood to be £115m five months ago. The Nigerian entrepreneur, who discovered yesterday that Prince Abdullah is ready to ‘move on’ from their discussions and begin instigating plans for next season, has yet to officially withdraw his interest but one independent expert within the game claimed it is “very difficult to envisage a scenario whereby things can be resurrected” given recent developments.

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Prince Abdullah granted Mmobuosi a period of exclusivity, designed to prevent him considering bids from rival investors, when their discussions began to gather pace earlier this term. That has now expired, meaning Mmobuosi is no longer the only individual or party the Saudi Arabian can meet to discuss acquiring either a partial or controlling interest in United, who will be promoted to the Premier League if they beat West Bromwich Albion tonight.

Although the English Football League has yet to sanction his takeover, with Mmobuosi meeting representatives from the governing body last month in an attempt to satisfy their demands, the 43-year-old is said to have made at least two payments to United totalling nearly £10m. One of these, believed to be of around £6.5m, was handed over just before Christmas. Mmobuosi’s inner circle suspect this helped United retain the services of Iliman Ndiaye, their Senegal international, during the January window despite receiving at least one concrete bid from a top-flight team.

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Ndiaye, arguably manager Paul Heckingbottom’s most influential player, scored the winning goal when United beat Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup fifth round. They went on to reach the semi-finals of the competition, losing to Manchester City on Saturday. The monies raised as a result of United’s march to Wembley helped lift the transfer embargo imposed on them by the EFL which prevented Heckingbottom from bolstering his squad midway through the campaign. The ban on processing any new registrations was handed down when United defaulted on payments relating to a number of previous deals.

Both Prince Abdullah and Mmobuosi, the founder of agri-fintech firm Tingo, accuse each other of breaking promises and deadlines throughout their talks. The latter complained he only became aware of some of United’s financial obligations after submitting his proposal, which initially appears to have been informally accepted. Prince Abdullah, meanwhile, is known to have become frustrated by the length of time it was taking to finalise the sale process.

Following the victory over Spurs, the pair followed each other on social media with senior figures at Bramall Lane and Mmobuosi’s associates hailing their actions as a sign the proposed buyout was progressing as planned.

Prince Abdullah gained control of United in 2019, soon after their last promotion to the PL, following a High Court battle with former co-owner and long-standing director Kevin McCabe.

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