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September 23, 2011

Saudi bid for Panathinaikos team fails to meet deadline

The latest sports buzz on the bid for Panathinaikos is a "no-go". The Saudi Prince interested in a stake in the soccer team has apparently failed to meet the deadline for the submission of an authorisation to a Greek lawyer that was set by shipping tycoon Yiannis Vardinoyiannis (major shareholder of the team).

Vlassis Tsakas, who is representing Prince Sultan bin Naser Al-Farhan Al-Saud in Greece showed interest in investing more than 220 million euros in the team and acquire a 54.7 percent stake that shipping tycoon had put up for grabs since early September.
Tsakas, who has now apparently travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet with the 26-year-old Prince, argues that the documents Vardinoyiannis required could not arrive in Greece before Monday on account of a religious holiday in Saudi Arabia.

Sports dailies, both domestic and foreign, have expressed doubts about how genuine the bid might be.