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Scotland-based millionaire launches bid to buy Leicester - and wants Rangers too

Talksport · Martha Riley · 2026-08-17T12:31:41+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Scotland-based millionaire launches ambitious bid to buy Leicester – and wants Rangers too Neil Lal, a Scottish-Indian businessman, has announced he is exploring an ambitious purchase of Leicester, as well as Rangers. The Foxes were recently put up for sale by owners King Power, as they prepare to leave the club after 16 years and are expected to make over £200million from it. This comes after it was previously reported that their owners had brought in an investment group to sound out potential buyers. It follows a string of financial issues, which saw Leicester relegated from the Championship having been deducted six points in February after being found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules for the 2023/24 season. As King Power look to sell the club 10 years on from their fairytale Premier League triumph, Lal is bidding to take them back to their former glory. The Sun has revealed the chairman and president of The Indian Council of the United Kingdom's ambitious swoop. All change? Lal, who has a net worth of around £2m, is putting together a consortium, after putting in a written enquiry to Leicester chiefs over a potential purchase of the now League One side. He told The Sun: "We are looking at the Leicester situation and have written to the club for information with regards to the financials. “Leicester City FC is a great football club with wonderful fans. “If things go well and both sides are happy then we plan to build the club and put it right back in the top tier of football. “India is a country of 1.4billion people, we look to build bridges with different revenue streams from merchandising and streaming, which will not only increase revenue but will build bridges with a new fan base on a global platform. “These synergies are what is needed." End of an era Should Lal's consortium be successful in their attempts to buy Leicester, it would bring an end to King Power's 16-year ownership. Their billionaire founder, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, took over at Leicester in 2010, with the team mid-table in the Championship. In 2014, they won promotion to the Premier League, before enjoying arguably the game's greatest fairy tale story two years later, as the Foxes pulled off one of the greatest shocks in sporting history by winning the league title. But tragedy struck in 2018 when Srivaddhanaprabha died in a helicopter crash outside the team’s stadium, with his son Aiyawatt - known as Top - subsequently taking control of the club. While Leicester tasted FA Cup glory in 2021, things have taken a turn for the worse at the King Power Stadium since then. The Foxes suffered relegation from the Premier League in 2023, before bouncing back the following season under Enzo Maresca, but dropped straight back down to the Championship in 2025. Disaster then struck last season, as the East Midlands outfit finished second-bottom in the Championship, condemning them to League One. Rangers ambition As well as voicing his plans to stage a sensational takeover at Leicester, Lal also revealed his big ambitions in Scottish football. The Scotland-based businessman also wants to buy Glasgow giants Rangers, but admitted this is a long-term goal. With US consortium led by 49ers Enterprises acquiring a majority stake at Ibrox in May 2025, Lal conceded it might be too soon to launch a takeover bid. But he has ambitious plans should this eventually come to fruition, revealing: “We also are looking for a football venture in Scotland. “There shouldn’t be any changes, for example with the strip or the colours. He continued: “In Scotland the two largest clubs are Rangers and Celtic. “We are currently looking at the situation and feel that Rangers FC have the potential to do much better on the pitch and financially. “Once again by increasing the revenue stream with regards to merchandise and streaming on a global scale with India, this will provide more funds to invest in players and to increase the stadium capacity too, which will pay in the long run." Ibrox transformation? Outlining his ambitions if he were to buy Rangers, Lal revealed he would look to increase their 51,000-capacity Ibrox home by 10,000. He explained: “In my opinion, I would rather buy their stake in full if it comes up and that it is available, and if it’s at the right price that suits us. “Working in partnership is a possibility, however, I would prefer to buy the full stake for our plans. “What we would plan is to increase the capacity of the stadium, you have the gap sides, you can dig under too, so we could expand it to at least 60,000 or more, that’s one mission. “A hotel can also be built, which would increase more revenue with people staying at the games, with a restaurant there too."