Khan: Saudi Arabia have money to ‘get away with anything’ including murder

Fulham owner Tony Khan has controversially claimed Saudi Arabia have the money to ‘get away with anything, including murder’ as Al-Hilal continue to pursue a move for Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The Saudi Arabian outfit have had two bids rejected for the Serbian forward, with their latest offer of £35m being knocked back by Fulham last week.

The Cottagers are reportedly seeking £52m for their star striker, who is believed to be furious at being priced out of a move and has told relatives he will never play for Fulham again.

But Khan is standing firm, and has hit out at Saudi Arabia’s approach to signing players this summer.

‘It’s amazing and I think if you have enough money you can get away with anything, including murder, and try to sign up all the top players in the world,’ he said on The Dan Le Batard Show.

Khan’s statement comes amid concerns about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, which was labelled ‘atrocious’ by Amnesty International earlier this month.

The organisation called for Steven Gerrard to speak out against the nation’s policies after he was named Al-Ettifaq manager.

Saudi Arabia have attracted a number of global stars in recent months, with Cristiano Ronaldo joining Al-Nassr in December, before his former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema moved to Al-Ittihad last month.

N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy have also moved to Saudi Arabia, and Mitrovic’s international team-mate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic recently signed for Al-Hilal.

Mitrovic wants to join him, but Khan has insisted he has no intention of selling the 28-year-old.

‘They’ve certainly approached a lot of great players, but we’re committed to keeping our top stars,’ he added.

Mitrovic was Fulham’s top scorer last season, netting 15 goals in all competitions as they finished inside the top half on their return to the Premier League.

This followed on from his record-breaking Championship campaign when he scored 43 goals to steer Fulham to promotion.

These numbers highlight why Fulham are so keen to keep him, but it appears they have plenty of work to do to convince him to stay.

There is also interest in another of Fulham’s standout players from last season – midfielder Joao Palhinha.

Fulham have placed a £60m price-tag on the 28-year-old in a bid to fend off West Ham, as the Irons bid to replace Declan Rice following his £105m move to Arsenal.