Manchester United were at the centre of a surprise takeover claim from Turki Al-Sheikh, who has since opted against taking over a Championship club

Turki Al-Sheikh has pulled out of a deal to invest in Championship side Derby Country, nearly 12 months on from dropping a bombshell Manchester United takeover claim. On Monday afternoon, it was confirmed by the businessman and Derby, that he was no longer in the running to acquire what was described as ‘controlling interest’ in the club.

United supporters may also be familiar with the billionaire Saudi Arabian boxing supremo following his shock claim on X that a potential investor was in advanced talks, before later clarifying it was not him

He said: last year “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor… I hope he’s better than the previous owners.”

The following day, he added: “My yesterday’s post about Manchester United’s potential sale meant one thing: the club is in an advanced negotiation phase with a new investor.

“Just to clarify, I am not the investor, nor are they from my nation. I’m posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen.”

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His major claim was almost immediately dismissed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in an interview with The Business podcast, produced by The Times and The Sunday Times, when he was asked about the Glazers.

He said: “That probably sums it up. We’re local and they’re the other side of the pond.

“That’s a long way away to try and manage a football club as big and complex as Manchester United. We’re here with feet on the ground. They [the Glazers] get a bad rap… but they are really nice people and they are really passionate about the club.”

Turki Al-Sheikh has, however, shown an interest in investing in football with talks held over a move for Bristol City but that did not materialise. His potential investment in the Midlands outfit Derby reached a far more advanced stage before he opted out.

Following Derby’s statement, he later revealed his decision to not invest was because of how long it took football’s independent regulator to assess prospective owners that prevented best preparations for the season.

He said: “I would like to thank everyone at Derby County Football Club, and everyone involved in this process for all their hard work over the past few months.

“We understood that the IFR process takes time and fully respect the importance of that, but unfortunately with the season already started, it would leave us with no time to prepare the team or the club for the season ahead.

“After careful consideration, we don’t feel it is right to proceed at this time without the necessary preparation in place, but we will remain in conversation with the club and see what is possible in the future. I personally wish the team and club every success for the season ahead.”

Denny Hamlin had little confidence heading into Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350. Brake problems plagued his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota throughout the weekend and unapproved adjustments forced him to start at the rear of the field. Hamlin still fought through the problems to finish fifth at Iowa Speedway.

The problems started during the practice session after Hamlin’s brake pedal repeatedly went to the floor. The issue returned during the race. By Lap 34, the No. 11 Toyota was still reporting brake trouble over the radio.

Hamlin summed up his exhausting afternoon over the team radio after taking the checkered flag.

“Unbelievable work, that may be my best drive ever,” Denny Hamlin said over the radio.

Hamlin suffered from brake shake at the 0.875-mile short track. Teams can choose different brake pad brands and compounds but NASCAR does not let teams replace their brake pads during the race weekend before the race starts. This meant the teams had to go with their brake choices until the race began.

Ryan Blaney won the opening stage from the pole and Christopher Bell took Stage 2. Hamlin finished the second stage in the top-10 and moved into the top five during the final stage.

“I switched my goals to needing some cars to wreck” – Denny Hamlin says he would have been happy with a top-25 at Iowa

Denny Hamlin, who crossed the finish line at Iowa in fifth place, said the result was better than he had hoped for. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe also battled brake issues but still managed to finish sixth.

“If I would have known it was going to be like this the whole race, I would have said top 25. Honestly, I would have been happy with it. But they kept working on the car and made adjustments around not having any brakes,” he said.

“I knew there was a chance it could be fixed but I knew it was still the same components that couldn’t be fixed so I just felt down. I switched my goals to needing some cars to wreck and maybe I get a top 25.”

Ty Gibbs won the race after taking two tires during the final pit stop. Bell finished second and Blaney third.

Meanwhile, Hamlin increased his lead to 103 points after the Iowa race. He now sits first with Ty Gibbs in second, followed by Blaney. Tyler Reddick has dropped to fourth after retiring early from the race.