Henry Mauriss denies Newcastle takeover offer is secretly backed by Qatar… who hope to discredit Saudi bid

HENRY MAURISS has been forced to deny rumours that his bid for Newcastle is being secretly backed by Qatar. The Middle East is rife with gossip that the American TV tycoon’s offer is being used to discredit the Saudi Arabia-led takeover. Mauriss launched a £340m offer last month with the Premier League yet to approve […]

HENRY MAURISS has been forced to deny rumours that his bid for Newcastle is being secretly backed by Qatar.

The Middle East is rife with gossip that the American TV tycoon’s offer is being used to discredit the Saudi Arabia-led takeover.

Mauriss launched a £340m offer last month with the Premier League yet to approve the Saudi bid after three months.

But in a fresh twist, a series of tweets on Monday accused Nasser Al-Khelaifi – the Qatari president of PSG and beIN Sports – of “pushing Mauriss to make the bid”.

And sources close to Al-Khelaifi have told SunSport he spoke to Mauriss about making an offer “to derail the Saudi takeover”.

Both Mauriss and representatives of Al-Khelaifi deny knowing of or ever speaking to each other.

Mauriss said: “I’ve never heard of Nasser, let alone met with him or spoken with him.

“I have no agreement of any kind with anyone or any firm in Qatar.

But SunSport has seen correspondence purportedly suggesting that Al-Khelaifi has a vested interest in Mauriss’ bid.

Newcastle are stuck in the middle of a major dispute between Gulf rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar – who own both PSG and beIN Sports.

A deal worth £300m between owner Mike Ashley and Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was struck in April.

But it has been dogged by human rights and piracy issues, with Al-Khelaifi accused of orchestrating the opposition.

The league’s owners and directors test has entered a 13th tortuous week, with the Saudi piracy of Prem matches via beIN Sports the major stumbling block.

After Saudi Arabia announced a crackdown on the illegal streaming, Prem chief Richard Masters said on Tuesday that a decision will be made “shortly”.

Eyebrows were raised when the unknown Mauriss entered the fray over two months after Ashley reached an agreement with PIF, Amanda Staveley and brothers David and Simon Reuben.

Tweets were sent out on Monday by a respected Pakistani journalist to over 150,000 followers.

Wajahat S. Khan wrote: “According to sources privy to conversation and written correspondence between them, Mauriss was pushed to make the bid by Nasser Al-Khelaifi, owner of PSG.

“The sources, who chose to remain anonymous, claim Al-Khelaifi is baiting Mauriss.

“If the American disrupts the Saudi-bid and buys Newcastle, then Al-Khelaifi’s beIN Sports ‘may buy’ Mauriss’ Clear TV.”