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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dan Kilpatrick

Qatar cool interest in Tottenham after January talks

The Qatari owners of Paris Saint-Germain are in talks to invest in clubs in Spain, Italy and Brazil, having cooled their interest in Tottenham.

Qatari Sports Investments, which is chaired by PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and has owned the French champions since 2011, is focused on adding minority stakes in La Liga club Malaga, Sampdoria — relegated from Serie A this season — and Brazilian side Santos to its football portfolio.

Under UEFA rules, clubs with the same controlling owners would be unable to compete against one another in Europe, so QSI is pursuing minority investments.

In October last year, it bought a 21.7 per cent stake in Portuguese club SC Braga, who finished third behind champions Benfica and Porto this season, while it also acquired an ownership stake in Belgian top-flight club KAS Eupen in 2012.

In January, Al-Khelaifi is understood to have met Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy in a London hotel for exploratory talks over buying a minority stake in the north London club, but QSI has since cooled on a deal.

Spurs deny the meeting took place and have consistently said the club is not for sale.

QSI is expected to eventually seek an investment in England as it aims to build a formidable multi-club model.

Qatari Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad al Thani is among the bidders currently vying to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family, although QSI has insisted that his interest in the Old Trafford club would not impact its future plans to invest in English football.

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