ALMATY, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Rakhat Aliyev, the powerful son-in-law of Kazakhstan's president, said on Friday he was looking to buy a 'stable' European soccer club and had been in talks with Belgium's Excelsior Mouscron.
Aliyev, who last week for the first time publicly confirmed
his ownership of a host of Kazakh media firms and a large stake
in an international sugar trading company, said he wanted to
buy a European club to help the Central Asian state's domestic
game.
'We're looking for a stable European club on the basis of
which we can build national football, so Kazakh players can
play quick modern football in the top flight of Western
Europe,' Aliyev said in comments printed by his Kazakhstan
Today news agency.
'Talks with Mouscron have not so far led to any concrete
results,' he said, answering questions sent in by readers.
Mouscron had not provided enough data on its finances and
he had doubts about the deal on offer, he said without
elaborating.
The Belgian side, 15th in the 18-team league, is a much
more modest prospect than billionaire Russian businessman Roman
Abramovich's purchase of Chelsea in 2003, but Aliyev's interest
reflects Kazakhstan's growing financial clout.
Aliyev, who heads Kazakhstan's Football Association and
negotiated the former Soviet state's accession to UEFA in 2002,
said it would take time to build the national game in the
rapidly growing oil-rich nation of 15 million.
'We don't have the same possibilities as Los Angeles Galaxy
which just bought David Beckham for 50 million,' he said.
'We have to build up our own players and that will take
time, money and unstinting effort.'
