With 22 points from 21 games played, Queens Park Rangers are currently bottom of the Championship table. Regardless, with a thirst for cash not seen since ECW identified Billy Corgan as a likely money mark, QPR’s new owners are aggressively seeking outside investment writes the Telegraph’s Tom Collomosse.
Queens Park Rangers hope to persuade Lakshmi Mittal, the world’s fifth-richest man, to invest some of his estimated £26 billion fortune in the club.
The Indian steel magnate was a guest of Rangers co-owners Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore for the 0-0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Loftus Road last Saturday which left QPR bottom of the Championship.
Mittal, 57, is a friend of Ecclestone after buying the Formula One rights holder’s £70 million house in Kensington.
A Rangers source said: “The club heard Mittal had been interested in Wigan and Everton, but this is a lot closer to home. He already knew Bernie from the time when he bought his house. The real worry is what clubs are going to want for players when Rangers try to buy them.”
Ecclestone is thought to be worth about £2.5 billion, while multi-millionaire Briatore is the managing director of the Renault F1 team and has diverse business interests including fashion, nightclubs and pharmaceuticals.
Were Mittal to be brought on board, Rangers’ spending power would dwarf even that of their west London rivals Chelsea, who are bankrolled by Roman Abramovich’s £9.5 billion fortune.
Mittal’s Kensington Gardens home is known as the ‘Taj Mittal’ as it is decorated with the marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra, India. In June 2004, Mittal paid more than £30 million to host his daughter Vanisha’s wedding.