Manchester United owners linked with move for Al Ittihad
By Lee Seng Foo20 hours ago
(Al Itthad Club/Facebook)
The Glazers have been linked with a move for Saudi Pro League club Al Ittihad, with Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah reporting that three groups are interested in buying the Jeddah side.
The newspaper said the Manchester United owners were working with Saudi businessman Wael Jamjoom, but its November 7 report gave no figure for a potential offer from the group.
Investment firms Sidra Capital and BlueFive Capital were in front after making the highest offer, according to the report, which also named Saudi Prince Saad bin Abdullah and American investor Josh Harris as partners in a separate group.
The Glazers took control of Manchester United in 2005 and kept a majority of the voting rights after Jim Ratcliffe acquired a minority stake in 2024.
Al Ittihad are 75% owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which took the same stake in Al Hilal, Al Nassr and Al Ahli in 2023.
The fund agreed in April to sell a 70% stake in Al Hilal to Kingdom Holding Company in a deal that put the club’s enterprise value at 1.4 billion Saudi riyals ($373 million).
On the pitch, Al Ittihad sit fourth under Jens Wissing, six points behind leaders Al Hilal after winning seven of their first 11 league matches.
The 2024/25 champions signed former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum on deadline day after he scored 36 league goals in 96 appearances across three seasons with Al Ettifaq.
They also signed Dion Lopy from Almeria and brought in Colombia midfielder Richard Rios on loan from Benfica.
Fans can watch the Saudi Pro League live on SPOTV NOW.
Former Real Madrid striker Joselu waved the chequered flag at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday as he attended the MotoGP weekend at Lusail with fellow Spaniard footballer Pablo Sarabia.
The pair now play in the Qatar Stars League, with Joselu at Al Sailiya and Sarabia at Al Arabi.
Joselu brought the race to a close as Marco Bezzecchi took victory ahead of Marc Marquez, with Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez completing the podium.
Marquez had won Saturday’s Sprint and left Lusail with a 60-point championship lead over Jorge Martin, who finished seventh in the Grand Prix.
Joselu and Sarabia both came through Real Madrid’s academy before going on to play for Spain, though their club careers took different paths.
Sarabia went on to play for Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain and Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Joselu returned to Madrid for the 2023/24 season and helped the club win the Champions League.
The striker’s biggest moment came in the semi-finals against Bayern Munich, when he came off the bench to score twice late on and send Madrid into the final.
Football came up again in the MotoGP paddock, where Joselu and Marquez exchanged greetings before the conversation turned to El Clasico.
Real Madrid’s win over Barcelona gave Joselu the bragging rights, while Fernandez also teased Marquez about his support for Barcelona.
Marquez later kept the banter going on Instagram, joking under Joselu’s post that he was surrounded by Real Madrid fans.
He now turns his attention to Portugal, where he aims to secure his eighth premier-class title with a round to spare.
Fans can watch the Portuguese Grand Prix live on SPOTV NOW.
The 2026 MotoGP season heads into its final two rounds in Portugal and Valencia with Marc Marquez closing in on an eighth premier-class world championship.
The Ducati rider leads Jorge Martin by 60 points after the Qatar Grand Prix, with Marco Bezzecchi a further 14 behind. With 74 points still available, Marquez needs 14 more to guarantee the title on countback, regardless of his rivals’ results. Victory in either remaining Sprint would also settle the championship.
It was a different picture when Martin arrived at Phillip Island leading Marquez by two points, only to fracture his right wrist in a Sprint crash while fighting for victory. The Aprilia rider then missed both races in Malaysia before returning to finish third in the Qatar Sprint and seventh in the Grand Prix, keeping his title hopes alive but leaving Marquez firmly in control.
Martin’s late-season injury helped Marquez extend his championship lead, but all three contenders have missed races during the season.
Marquez fractured his foot in the French Sprint and missed the French and Catalan Grands Prix, while Bezzecchi lost opportunities at Brno and Sachsenring. The Italian was suspended from the Czech Grand Prix following an altercation with marshals after his Sprint crash, then missed both German races after breaking his collarbone in qualifying.
So how would the title fight look if we counted only Sprints and Grands Prix all three started? Marquez would still lead the Aprilia duo, but the gaps would be much smaller.
Across 14 Grands Prix and 17 Sprints from Thailand to Qatar, including races in which at least one of them later retired, Marquez scored 335 points, ahead of Martin on 324 and Bezzecchi on 306. That puts Marquez 11 points clear of Martin and 29 ahead of Bezzecchi.
Marquez collected another 96 points in races where at least one of his two rivals did not start, compared with 47 for Martin and 51 for Bezzecchi. Those differing returns account for the wider gaps in the championship standings. Within their shared starts, however, the results show contrasting strengths.
Bezzecchi had the strongest Sunday results, winning six Grands Prix and collecting 234 points. Martin scored 209 without a victory in those meetings, while Marquez took four wins and 192 points. Bezzecchi also finished ahead of both rivals in seven of the 14 Grands Prix, compared with four for Marquez and three for Martin.
Martin’s only Grand Prix victory of the season came in France, where Marquez did not start.
The balance shifted in the Sprints, where Marquez won nine of their 17 shared starts and collected 143 points. Martin took four victories and 115 points, while Bezzecchi scored 72 without winning.
Marquez finished ahead of both Aprilia riders in 11 Sprints, compared with five for Martin and one for Bezzecchi. His 71-point Sprint advantage over Bezzecchi outweighed the Italian’s 42-point lead in Grand Prix scoring, putting Marquez ahead on combined points.
In conclusion, while Marquez’s championship cushion grew during his rivals’ absences, he also outscored both across the sessions all three started.
Here is how their results compare from Thailand to Qatar.
Sessions all three started (14 Grands Prix, 17 Sprints)
Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi finished her 2026 WTA Tour campaign with three doubles titles, leading Southeast Asia’s haul after compatriot Janice Tjen missed the chance to match her in Chennai.
Sutjiadi won the WTA 500 doubles titles in Bad Homburg with Vera Zvonareva and in Washington and Singapore alongside Erin Routliffe.
The victories were her first at that level and placed her joint-ninth on the tour’s combined title leaderboard, alongside players including Aryna Sabalenka and Karolina Muchova.
Tjen could have drawn level by retaining her Chennai Open singles crown, but Poland’s Magda Linette recovered to win the final 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
She ended the season with two main-tour doubles titles, partnering Katarzyna Piter in Hobart and Storm Hunter in Osaka, and climbed 15 places to world No. 60 after Chennai.
The Philippines’ Alexandra Eala also enjoyed a breakthrough season, claiming her maiden WTA Tour singles title at the WTA 500 event in Washington.
She later reached the Hong Kong final, where a 6-3, 6-0 defeat by American Claire Liu still lifted her two places to a career-high No. 15.
The region’s success extended to the WTA 125 circuit, where Eala won the Birmingham singles title and Tjen claimed the doubles crown alongside Talia Gibson.
Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee collected singles titles in Austin and Istanbul, while compatriot Mananchaya Sawangkaew won in Mumbai.
Katerina Siniakova led the main tour’s combined title count with eight, followed by Taylor Townsend, Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani on six each.
Elena Rybakina, Mirra Andreeva, Linda Noskova and Zhang Shuai collected four apiece, with Rybakina’s haul including the Australian Open and US Open singles crowns.
Tijjani Reijnders and Joao Felix are among 15 Saudi Pro League players selected by 10 national teams for this month’s UEFA Nations League matches.
Portugal have called up three Saudi-based players for their first fixtures since Cristiano Ronaldo announced his international retirement last week.
Al Nassr forward Felix joins Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves and Al Ahli winger Francisco Trincao as Portugal prepare to face Denmark and Wales.
The defending champions have already reached the quarter-finals after winning their opening four matches and need one more point to secure top spot in Group A4.
They host Denmark on November 14 before visiting Wales three days later.
The Netherlands have selected Al Qadsiah midfielder Reijnders and Al Hilal winger Crysencio Summerville for their closing group matches.
The Dutch host Greece on November 13 before travelling to Germany on November 16, with a quarter-final place still to be secured.
Greece have called up NEOM winger Georgios Masouras, while Al Hilal midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been selected by Serbia.
Al Ahli defender Merih Demiral completes the Saudi Pro League’s eight-player contingent in League A, with Turkiye facing Belgium and France.
Scotland’s Jack Hendry is the league’s sole representative in League B, with the Al Ettifaq defender selected for matches against North Macedonia and Switzerland.
Slovakia match Portugal’s total of three Saudi-based players, calling up Al Ettifaq goalkeeper Marek Rodak and midfielder Ondrej Duda alongside Al Fateh forward Lukas Haraslin.
They face the Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan in League C, which accounts for six of the Saudi league’s selections.
Al Diriyah defender Berat Gjimshiti has been called up by Albania, while Al Taawoun’s Marin Petkov and Al Khaleej goalkeeper Anthony Moris have been selected by Bulgaria and Luxembourg respectively.
The Saudi Pro League resumes on November 20 when Al Ahli face Al Nassr in a rearranged fixture, before Matchweek 13 runs from November 26–28, live on SPOTV NOW.
