Turkish businessman to buy British football club Hull City

ISTANBUL

Turkish businessman and media owner Acun Ilıcalı has announced his plans to buy the British football club Hull City, which plays in the Championship.

“Negotiations have started. I hope my dream will come true,” Ilıcalı said in an interview with the national broadcaster Haber Global.

Ilıcalı had bought half of the shares of the Fortuna Sittard, an Eredivisie team, in 2020 but parted ways with the Dutch team at the beginning of this year, saying “his dream laid in England.”

“I am dreaming of a Hull City team full of Turkish footballers and a Turkish coach,” he said.

“My aim is to form a team resounding across the globe,” he added.

Hull City AFC is a club in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, which was founded in 1904. The team plays home games at MKM Stadium, with a capacity of 25,500. The owner of the club, nicknamed “The Tigers,” is Assem Allam, an 82-year-old Egyptian industrial generator manufacturer.

The amount of the sale is unknown, but the Turkish media estimated that the 52-year-old Ilıcalı offered some $28 million to Allam to buy all the club’s shares.

“We made good talks. Both sides understood each other well. They [the club’s board] trust us,” Ilıcalı said in the interview.