From the Daily Mail / The Athletic:

Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique sensationally swooped to buy Notts County in the summer but failed with a last-minute bid.

Pique, in association with his Kosmos Global Holding group, was in talks with former owner Alan Hardy about buying the club in July and was said to be attracted by County's prestige and value, according to The Athletic.

The 32-year-old was keen to turn the youth system into a hotbed of homegrown talent, but Danish brothers Alexander and Christoffer Reedtz bought the club instead on July 26, such was the necessity of a quick deal with a High Court date over an unpaid tax bill looming.

I'm not quite sure I believe it, the athletic website seems hell bent on charging people a fee to read something most sites offer for free.

This makes me feel its more likely to be made up.

i cant help but feel if this was genuine that the sale would have just happened, its not like it did not take for ages for the sale to finalise or even cross the dotted line. i am more than happy with the danish owners though.

i am sure they will want to focus on the academy themselves.

I was sceptical about it, but wouldn't dismiss it completely. The Athletic's business model centres around poaching the best local journalists on money local rags couldn't possibly compete with, so they may well have good sources.

Of course, that doesn't tell us how serious the bid was. If they really meant business, they had plenty of time to get it done over the summer. As it is we're under new ownership - while they look a bit like an 80s band, so far there have been no fall-outs, sackings or drama, no arguments on Twitter and neither of the owners has accidentally exposed himself on social media. Hopefully we're in for a sane, steady and successful period at last.

22 hours ago, DangerousSausage said:

The Athletic's business model centres around poaching the best local journalists on money local rags couldn't possibly compete with, so they may well have good sources.

It reminds of what Ted Turner did when he purchased Jim Crockett Promotions, then formed WcW.

However, instead of forming a good organisation - they do seem to tell stories which seem to stretch the imagination. It would surprise me if there's some truth here, yet I am sceptical of anything more than a slight interest in owning Notts.

I doubt there was any serious plans to take the club on.

The takeover had no signs of this and I do think if it was true, it would have been known sooner. Not emerging once things are rosy at the club, the Danish brothers are doing wonders. They are running the club well, importantly allowing the staff to do their jobs.

If true why has this taken so long to become public ?

Bit of a none story in my opinion. Even if it’s true it’s all irrelevant. The brothers have done us proud.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has re-signed for Manchester United as their player manager on a 20-year-deal. ????