Sheffield United Football Club was funded by a £3million loan from Osama bin Laden's family, a court has heard.

A High Court judge is currently analysing a battle for control of the club between co-owners Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is a member of the Saudi royal family.

On the fourth day of the hearing a sensational revelation was read out in court, seemingly linking the newly-promoted Premier League club to relatives of the former Al Qaeda leader.

It relates to an investment opportunity within the club which became known as Project Delta - a £3million loan that McCabe said would never have to be repaid.

In court on Wednesday, McCabe and Abdullah argued about whether or not the money would have to be paid back, with the Saudi prince insisting it would have been paid back through sponsorship.

But on Thursday, Barrister Andreas Gledhill QC, who is leading Abdullah's legal team, said McCabe "knew the money had come from another source, namely a member of the Bin Laden family," according to the Sheffield Star.

The court heard of emails in which McCabe's colleague at a property business Jeremy Tutton mentions that he would hate the headline in the Sheffield Star to be "Blades launder money for extremists".