RICHARD THOMPSON, a multimillionaire and former chairman of Queens Park Rangers, has withdrawn his interest in a takeover of Aston Villa. Thompson’s partner in the consortium, Ray Ranson, the former Manchester City defender, has said, however, that he is still interested in making an offer.
Villa rejected a bid of £30 million in March, valuing the club at closer to £100 million, despite the share price suggesting that a takeover would cost about £32 million.
A media company in Thailand is preparing to back the bid by Thaksin Shinawatra, the country’s Prime Minister, to buy a stake in Liverpool. GMM Grammy, which is based in Bangkok, is to provide the funding for Shinawatra’s offer to buy 30 per cent of Liverpool. Grammy’s interest revives the £65 million bid, which had hit several stumbling blocks.
Manchester United have had a £10 million offer for Philippe Mexes rejected, according to Guy Roux, the Auxerre coach. The defender felt that he would not be a first choice at Old Trafford, and United have since signed Gabriel Heinze from Paris Saint-Germain for £6.9 million.
Southampton have made an approach for Mikael Nilsson, the midfield player whose contract at Halmstad ends in December. Nilsson, 25, played for Sweden against Bulgaria on Monday. “It’s interesting,” Nilsson said. “I would like to play abroad.”
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Rennes have extended Abdeslam Ouaddou’s loan from Fulham for another year.