According to AS, Malaga owner Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Thani has put the club up for sale.
The Qatari owner is understood to have become frustrated in his attempts to build a football empire on the Costa del Sol, having seen plans for a new stadium, sports city and a football academy all thwarted by local legal and political arguments.
Two days ago it was learned that the authorities had also denied the Sheikh permission to build a hotel in the nearby millionaires’ playground of Marbella, a decision that could prove to be the final straw and the prelude to the possible sale of the club.
AS claims it has been told that there have been negotiations between Al-Thani and oil company Oil Taci, owned by Tirana-based Albanian magnate Rezart Taci, who is also the owner of Italian club Bologna.
Al-Thani purchased Malaga from the Sanz family in summer 2010 in a deal worth a reported €36m, of which €14.5m went to the previous owners with the rest used to pay off existing debts.
However, both Villarreal and Osasuna have recently complained about Malaga to the Spanish League for money still outstanding on the transfers of Santi Cazorla and Ignacio Monreal, while four players have denounced the club for non-payment of wages.
Shatat Moayad, one of the Sheikh’s aides, landed in the Andalusian city this week ostensibly to try and sort out the club’s messy finances, although his arrival may now be seen as an attempt to find a buyer before the start of the new season.
