Al Fayed dismisses talk of Fulham sale

Fulham chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed has insisted the club is not for sale after the prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra…

Fulham chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed has insisted the club is not for sale after the prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra visited Al Fayed last weekend and was in the stands as Fulham beat Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Fulham have issued a statement dismissing Shinawatra's claims and insisting Al-Fayed will not sell the club.

Al-Fayed said: "The way Fulham are playing at the moment I can quite understand why it may be an attractive proposition to some people in football.

"But this is a club I love passionately and I have no intention of selling it nor would I think about discussing offers."

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Shinawatra told reporters that he had talked to Al Fayed, who also owns luxury west London department store Harrods, during his holiday in Britain when he saw the shock 3-1 win over United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

"I met Al Fayed over the weekend and teased him that I was interested in buying Fulham and he told me to come back to talk to him when I was seriously interested," Thaksin said.

"We are studying how Brazil has developed its kids to become good football players and we would like to inspire our children to be rising stars of the premier league," said Shinawatra , a telecommunications tycoon.

He said he was interested in buying Fulham and, although he had not made a decision, finding the money would not be a problem.

"I will invite business people and the public to join the purchase. The price isn't a problem. It will cost a few pennies."

A spokesman for the Thailand government claimed in a statement issued later today that Shinawatra was interested in establishing a link with Fulham to help young Thai players improve.

The spokesman said: "The PM really wants to make a connection to send young Thai football players to be trained at Fulham Football Club.

"This is due to the PM being impressed with some of Fulham's star players and interested in Fulham's performance.

"I also believe the PM has not discussed investment in Fulham Football Club with Mr Mohamed Al-Fayed."