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Manchester City are set to become the world’s richest football club after an Arab royal family that are even wealthier than Roman Abramovich signed a deal to buy the Barclays Premier League club.

The ultimate owners of Manchester City are understood to be members of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich Gulf state. The Al-Nahyan family’s total holdings are said to be worth at least $26 billion (about £14.4 billion) and they have sporting interests that range from horses to motor racing. “Money is no object for these people,” a source close to the deal said. “They are buying the club because they like watching Premiership football.”

The acquisition of City from Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire former Prime Minister of Thailand, was led by Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim, one of the best-known businessmen in the Middle East. Al-Fahim has become known as “the Gulf’s Donald Trump” after the success of his real estate company, Hydra Properties. Hydra is building a number of skyscrapers in Dubai and is also involved in the Al Reem project, a man-made island near the city of Abu Dhabi.

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Al-Fahim shares another similarity with Trump because he hosts a reality television series called Hydra Executives. This follows the format of The Apprentice series, with Al-Fahim taking on the Sir Alan Sugar role.

The 31-year-old is one of the Middle East’s few “celebrity businessmen” and he is known to enjoy rubbing shoulders with A-list stars in Hollywood. Al-Fahim also has interests in football, having established an Inter Milan training academy in Dubai.

However, while the real estate magnate is probably rich enough to buy City on his own, sources close to the deal said that Al-Fahim was really a front man for the Al-Nahyan royal family. Al-Fahim arranged the deal and signed a memorandum of understanding to buy the club on Sunday night, but most of the money is being put up by a handful of sheikhs in the royal family. Among them is thought to be Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, chamberlain of the royal court in Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Mansour, whose title is minister of presidential affairs, is the half-brother of the President of United Arab Emirates and a full brother of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. He is, therefore, one of the most powerful men in the Gulf and, although his personal wealth is unknown, he is likely to be a multi-billionaire.

In a twist that will excite conspiracy theorists, Sheikh Mansour is married to the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed is interested in buying Liverpool FC through the Dubai International Capital sovereign wealth fund.

The company that has bought City is called Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment, a new firm set up solely for the purpose of buying the club. They are backed by the Royal Group, a private investment vehicle owned by the Al-Nahyan family that also owns Hydra Properties.

Abu Dhabi is the richest of seven emirates that make up UAE. Its wealth comes from oil and gas, and the rapid increase in the price of natural resources has made the country and its ruling family even wealthier.

Most of the state’s wealth is held in the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, worth $800 billion (about £444 billion), which buys shares in Western companies. The other main investment vehicle is called Mubadala, which has bought a 5 per cent stake in Ferrari and was instrumental in bringing Formula One to Abu Dhabi from next year. Abu Dhabi is positioning itself as a sporting and cultural hub in the Middle East and the acquisition of City will play a small role in that development.