Blackburn to go to Miami Dolphins owner?

Updated 10.14 Fri Jun 22 2007

Blackburn Rovers could become the latest Premier League club to fall into foreign ownership, potentially handing manager Mark Hughes a sizeable transfer kitty.

South African billionaire Johann Rupert has reportedly teamed up with the owner of Miami Dolphins NFL team Wayne Huizenga to make a potential bid for the men from Ewood Park.

South African billionaire Johann Rupert has reportedly teamed up with the owner of Miami Dolphins NFL team Wayne Huizenga to make a potential bid for Blackburn Rovers

Rupert, whose family was recently named as the 207th richest in the world with a fortune of £1.65 billion, has enlisted the support of Huizenga after emerging as a rival bidder for the 1994 / 95 Premiership champions.

US-based businessman Daniel Williams, 30, from Lytham St Annes has already declared his interest in buying his boyhood club.

Huizenga, who does not intend to play a major part in the bid but would support Rupert, said: "My good friend Johann Rupert asked me if I'd be a very, very small partner.

"I did say that I'd do that - but only because I was a friend of his. I personally have no interest in buying a team over here. I know some of our fellow NFL owners have come over here and purchased all or parts of teams and I'm really not sure what their agenda is."

Williams, however, is adamant that he is serious about trying to buy out the Walker Trustees, who currently own 99.8 per cent of the club.

He said: "The people who are already running Blackburn seem to be doing a damn good job of it.

"The notion that we would come into the club with no other football experience other than being fans and be chairman, chief executive officer and vice chairman is nonsensical.

"We would absolutely defer to those people who have been doing a great job for a while now. If this goes further down the line then we probably wouldn't make any major changes, I don't think."

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