AN ENGLAND fan in Qatar who partied with the son of a sheikh at his £460m palace after meeting him in a supermarket has revealed exactly what happened on their wild night.
Alex Sullivan, 23, posted pictures of himself with a lion cub during his first night out at the World Cup in Qatar.
The Three Lions fan had been shopping with his dad Tommy and friend John at a Doha supermarket for beer when they claim to have met a member of the ruling Emir of Qatar’s family.
After the chance meeting, the three said they were invited for a drive in his Lamborghini back to his immense palace, featuring its own private zoo.
Although apprehensive at first about being in the £460m mansion, they described their mega-rich hosts as “incredibly generous and hospitable”.
Alex described the sheikh as “down to earth and friendly,” adding: “We had a really good conversation with them.”
The story went viral as football fans around the world were left stunned at their unbelievable adventure.
Alex told The Mirror: “They were incredibly generous and hospitable and we had a great time. They had been asleep most of the day but they took us for a drive in the Lamborghini. I filmed that and also played with a lion cub.
“He had his own personal zoo with the lion cub, various birds of prey and some monkeys. They are obviously very powerful people in business. The palace was worth about two billion Qatari Riyal.
“But they were so down to earth and friendly, we had a really good conversation with them.”
Alex’s story first hit the headlines after his mate John was interviewed by talkSPORT wearing an Everton and England t-shirt at a fanzine in Qatar.
John told talkSPORT: “We met one of the sheikh’s sons and he took us back to the palace and he showed us, he had lions and everything.
“They’ve made us so welcome and look around you, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
But after many expressed scepticism at his claims, Alex shared a video appearing to back up his story.
In one piece of footage shared on his Snapchat, he is seen walking up what seems to be the palace’s driveway.
He says: “We’re on a beer mission, trying to get beers back at the gaff and I’ve only managed to get us back to a f***in’… a naughty one with Nawaf and Abdul-Aziz.”
Alex then adds: “We’ve just rocked up.”
In another piece of footage, he is seen sitting outside under floodlights next to a set of football nets with a group of men dressed in traditional long white Qatari robes and headdresses.
Alex then sits down on a chair and begins kissing and petting a lion cub that comes over to play with him.
“F***in’ mad,” he says.
A third clip shows him playing PlayStation 4 with the sheikh inside his extravagant mansion.
Alex, who works in e-commerce, and Tommy, are both diehard Everton fans from the Wirral.
Retired lorry driver Tommy said he was enjoying the World Cup, after setting aside £20,000 for the month-long extravaganza.
He said that they met some Iranian fans in a bar ahead of the World Cup clash with England on Monday.
“We met some Iran fans in a bar and they were hugging us and shaking hands,” he said. “We agreed that we had to buy the drinks if they won, or they buy if we won.”
With England demolishing Iran 6-2, he added: “That is going to be a big round!”
