Shahid Khan buys Fulham from al-Fayed

Shahid Khan, billionaire owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, was announced on Friday night as the new owner of Premier League club Fulham.

Khan bought the club from Mohamed al-Fayed, the 85-year-old Egyptian, who has been the owner since 1997.

According to the Fulham website, the deal has been approved by the Premier League, and Khan “assumes 100 per cent ownership of the club, debt-free, as of today.” “My time of serving as the custodian of Fulham football club would one day come to an end, and I feel that time has now arrived,” al-Fayed told the club’s website.

“The time is right because I have found a very good man in Shahid Khan to accept the responsibility and privilege that I have enjoyed at Fulham since 1997. Fulham will be in very good hands with Shahid, whose success in business and passion for sport is very evident.”

“Fulham is the perfect club at the perfect time for me,” Khan said. “I want to be clear, I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans. My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each has a viable and sustainable Premier League future that fans of present and future generations can be proud of.”

He vowed to manage the club’s finances and operational affairs “with prudence and care,” making youth development and community programmes “fundamentally important elements of Fulham’s future.”