Ahmed Al-Faraj: My brother spends millions on Pompey
The brother of the elusive Portsmouth owner Ali Al-Faraj - Ahmed - claims that his family have poured millions into the club, but are abused despite their ''love for the club''.
The Sun have Ahmed's first-ever interview in Britain, where the Saudi Arabian investor maintains that his family do have the money to keep Pompey afloat and that they are dealing with problems left behind by the previous regime.
Portsmouth are currently under a transfer embargo for debts owed on previous transfer deals, while they are also challenging a winding-up petition served on them by HM Revenue and Customs before Christmas.
"So much seems to be against us,'' Ahmed said. ''The transfer ban means we cannot compete fairly and we are arguing about the winding-up order, which we want set aside. Then, when the fans are chanting against us, as they did at the Arsenal game, we do wonder why we are involved in this.
"It is not nice when this is happening but we understand why the fans are sceptical. They have been kept in the dark and don't really know what has been going on inside the club financially. We will soon sit down with the supporters directly and explain everything at a big fans' forum. I will be there.
"It has been a difficult time. But once the fans know what we've done and that Ali has put £40 million into this club - including paying £12 million to HMRC - while only recouping £13 million through revenue, I'm sure they will appreciate us.''
Indeed, Ahmed was keen to dispel rumours that the family were looking for a quick profit from the club.
"There was a misunderstanding when Ali was quoted saying he planned to sell the club quickly for a profit,'' he said. "What he wants to do is bring in other investors. How could you make a profit out of Portsmouth right now? There has to be a long-term plan and we have that.
"We were in a good position to take over last August and had £35 million of backing from the banks. But owner Sacha Gaydamak decided to sell to Sulaiman Al-Fahim instead.
''Things had changed when we were asked to save the club six weeks later. If Ali had not stepped in, Portsmouth would have gone into administration. I'm sure of it. But this club can still have a good future. Eventually, we want to be challenging at the top, not fighting at the bottom. First, we have to stay up and we can only do that if the Premier League lifts our transfer embargo."
Ahmed insists the new regime is being punished for the sins of previous owners and that, despite the fact that the club has twice failed to pay the wages, he is committed to sorting out the problems.
"People don't seem to realise just how much my brother is investing here,'' he added. ''I can assure you he [Ali] exists. I am texting him or ringing him every half-hour.
"We are suffering for the mistakes of others and there is a huge amount of work to do. We worked through Christmas and New Year for 20 hours a day. My wife calls Portsmouth my 'second wife' as I spend so much time working for this club. We believe in it. We believe we can save it and are doing everything possible to achieve that.
"We were not happy when the staff could not be paid. But there were other bills and we had to get the money there first. We have the money, though. We are trying to clear everything... The most important thing for the club to stay in the Premier League is to get players in to keep us there. It is the No 1 task. All other financial problems will be sorted.''
