LONDON: Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars American football team, is in talks to buy the iconic Wembley Stadium, British media reported on Thursday.
England’s Football Association revealed earlier today that they have received an offer to buy Wembley Stadium – the home of the English football team.
The London Evening Standard reported that Shahid Khan, who owns Championship club Fulham and the NFL´s Jacksonville Jaguars, is behind the £500 million ($698 million) bid to buy the national stadium.
"We can confirm that the FA has received an offer to buy Wembley Stadium," an FA statement read.The shock proposal was put before the full board of the domestic game´s governing body on Thursday.
"I am very pleased to learn today that The Football Association board of directors received our offer to purchase Wembley Stadium, our home away from home in London, from the FA," Khan said in a statement.
Khan denied the bid for the stadium is the first step in relocating his franchise overseas.
"Today´s news changes none of what we envision for the long-term promise for the Jaguars here in Jax, and it changes nothing as to the goals we have for your downtown," Khan said. "If anything, today´s news is the embodiment of the ethos we adopted several years ago of being proud, bold and committed."
Wembley, which has a 90,000-capacity, was reopened in 2007 after the FA´s seven-year, £757 million rebuild of the home of English football.
The flamboyant Khan is a Pakistan-born American billionaire, who made his fortune in the car parts business.