Wembley sale OFF as Shahid Khan withdraws £600million bid as FA refuse to sell

THE planned £600milliion sale of Wembley stadium is OFF after Fulham owner Shahid Khan shelved his proposal.

FA chief executive Martin Glenn and chairman Greg Clarke had claimed selling the national stadium would open the door to a “once in a lifetime” investment opportunity in grassroots facilities.

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But opposition among representatives of the amateur “national game” has grown since the plan was announced in April.

And with just a week to go before the crunch meeting of the FA Council which appeared set to vote the plan down, FA chiefs and Khan confirmed the proposed deal had been withdrawn.

In a statement, Glenn revealed: “Shahid Khan has informed us today that he will be withdrawing his offer to buy the stadium – and we fully respect his decision.

“Mr Khan believed that his offer to buy Wembley Stadium would release funds to help improve community football facilities in England and that it would be well received by all football stakeholders.

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”At a recent meeting with Mr Khan he expressed to us that, without stronger support from within the game, his offer is being seen as more divisive than it was anticipated to be and has decided to withdraw his proposal.”

In his statement, Khan - who wanted to make Wembley the home of a potential London-based NFL franchise - maintained his intention was to proceed with the backing of the English game.

Khan said: “Following last week’s FA Council hearing, it appears there is no definitive mandate to sell Wembley.

“My current proposal, subsequently, would earn the backing of only a slim majority of the FA Council, well short of the conclusive margin that the FA Chairman has required.”

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Khan added: “The intent of my efforts was, and is, to do right by everyone in a manner that strengthens the English game and brings people together, not divides them.

“Unfortunately, given where we are today, I’ve concluded that the outcome of a vote next week would be far from sufficient in expressing the broad support favored by the FA Chairman to sell Wembley Stadium.

“Until a time when it is evident there is an unmistakable directive from the FA to explore and close a sale, I am respectfully withdrawing my offer to purchase Wembley Stadium.”

While Khan has not ruled out a future offer, the scale of opposition to his plans appears to dismiss any likelihood of Wembley being sold.

Last week’s Council meeting saw opponents emerge after three hours increasingly confident that the plan would be torpedoed next week.

It appears Khan has also recognised that the mood has hardened and has withdrawn his bid rather than see it scuppered by the FA members.