The club, with a 78 million pound (135 million dollar) albatross round its neck, is on the brink of becoming the first English Premier League outfit to go into administration.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman, who used to go to Elland Road to watch Leeds' matches when he was a student in Yorkshire in the 1970s, is trying to broker a deal with a Middle Eastern consortium to save the club.

"I'm one of Leeds' biggest fans," says the 44-year-old who is a member of Bahrain's royal family, although not one of the ruling inner circle.

"They're one of the top five in English football which I love."

Sheikh Abdul Rahman, head of the Al-Najma sports club who are Bahrain champions at volleyball and handball, has three children aged 6 to 15.

He made his money in real estate and is said to have wide-ranging business interests but reveals few personal details.

"I lived in England from 1972 to 1984 where I went to a Wellington school and then to Ealing university where I read economics," added the sheikh whose brother, Muhammad Bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, is Bahrain's foreign minister.

"I've got my health and the friendship of others to support me," he says when asked if he has the financial muscle to take over Leeds.

"I'll be a stake-holder... with a group of investors whose names I cannot reveal until the deal is agreed in the next few days."

Many of those who doubted him will have been heartened by the fact that he has appointed a respected stockbroker in Brewin Dolphin to carry out negotiations.

He says he has also strong links with Leeds chairman John McKenzie and vice-chairman Allan Leighton.

The Sheikh's declaration of intent comes amid a re-structuring battle which is going on in London on a daily basis.

US bondholders, who loaned 60 million pounds against the income of future Elland Road attendances, could come back with a definitive answer on the Leeds re-structuring suggestion within the next 24 hours.

Experts Deloitte Touche have been charged with the task of finding further financial backing from around the world.

The Sheikh's statement, announced through Brewin Dolphin, read: "Further to recent press speculation and comments attributed to His Excellency, the Sheikh confirms that he is at an early stage in exploring a number of options to assist the company (Leeds United Football Club) in its present financial position. That may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company's issued share capital."

He later claimed "Alan Smith and all the jewels of the club will not be sold off. They are the heart of Leeds United. I am still hurting over the sale of Jonathan Woodgate."