Malaga CF

Son of Malaga CF owner Sheikh Al-Thani remanded in prison without bail

Judge orders Rakan Al-Thani held at Soto del Real as court rules family deliberately stalled judicial process and attempted to evade justice

Rakan, one of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani's three sons. (Instagram)

Jorge Garrido

09/10/2026 Actualizado a las 13:23h.

A judge has ordered Rakan Al-Thani, one of the three sons of Malaga CF owner Quatari sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani, to be remanded in custody without bail. He is now being held at Madrid V prison in Soto del Real.

The decision came hours after Rakan appeared by videoconference on Thursday from the Plaza de Castilla courts in Madrid, during which he was questioned by the judge of Malaga’s court of first instance number 14.

< iframe title="At a glance: Rakan Al-Thani detention and Malaga CF judicial case" aria-label="Tabla" id="datawrapper-chart-mHH2I" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/mHH2I/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="498" data-external="1">< /iframe >< script type="text/javascript">(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();< /script >

With help from a court-appointed lawyer and an Arabic interpreter, he insisted he was innocent and said he knew nothing about the offences he is accused of.

In her ruling, the judge said the case was facing "a situation of procedural paralysis deliberately sought by the defendant and the other members of his family". She added that Rakan had shown a clear intention to evade justice, since he was arrested by German police while trying to leave the country on a flight to Doha.

The judge also noted that Malaga’s appeal court had ordered a European and international arrest warrant earlier this year. The defendants had stayed out of Spain while travelling freely elsewhere.

The public prosecutor, Malaga city hall and the club’s small shareholders’ association (APA) had all called for Rakan to be jailed. BlueBay, however, asked for him to be released under whatever precautionary measures the judge saw fit.

Facing 14 years in prison

Rakan, his siblings and his father are being investigated for alleged misappropriation, unfair management and imposing abusive agreements. Prosecutors are seeking 14 years in prison for each of the four family members.

According to court sources, if the other defendants are not found soon, the trial will proceed with those present, and separate proceedings will open for the rest.

Rakan kept a lower profile than his brothers Nasser and Nayef, although he sat on the club’s board. In February 2020, a court placed the club under judicial administration and appointed José María Muñoz to run it.