Alex, his dad, and his mate John went on a wild night out in Doha (Picture: Alex Sullivan)
An England fan who went on a wild night out like something from the Hangover movie has revealed the full story behind what happened.
Alex Sullivan, 23, went out in Doha with his father Tommy and their friend John to ‘look for some beers’ at a supermarket when they claim to have met a member of the Emir of Qatar’s family.
After meeting the royal and his friends, the trio say they were invited for a drive in a Lamborghini back to the huge ‘£460m’ palace on the outskirts of the city, which included its own private zoo.
The father and son said they were worried at first, but soon found themselves enjoying the life of luxury thanks to their ‘incredibly generous and hospitable’ hosts.
The Everton fan then shared photos online of him exploring the huge palatial building, as he met exotic birds, lion cubs and monkeys at the mansion.
He also shared a video of him playing with a lion cub at this host’s private zoo, which has gone viral.
But that didn’t stop people from doubting his tall tale online, and even his mum had to back up his story to say he wasn’t lying.
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.
Alex went for a ride in a Lamborghini (Picture: Alex Sullivan)
He also played video games with the Sheikh (Picture: Alex Sullivan)
Alex’s dad with one of the lion cubs (Picture: Alex Sullivan)
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‘But they were so down to earth and friendly, we had a really good conversation with them.’
His mum, Sheena, 55, insisted that he really did have the encounter with a pair of friendly locals who were members of Qatar’s extended ruling Royal family.
Sheena said the three Everton season ticket holders had been saving for years to fund the trip.
She told how her son had never previously handled any exotic animal, and was only used to petting her family’s pet Bichon Frise dog called Rosie.
Alex with the first of many beers on their wild night out in Qatar (Picture: Facebook)
Alex (centre) and his dad (right) and pal John on the flight to Qatar (Picture: Facebook)
Alex Sullivan recounted his wild night out in Qatar (Picture: Snapchat / Alex Sul)
Alex recorded him playing with a lion in the palace (Picture: Snapchat / Alex Sul)
The pair could be seen inside the Qatari mansion (Picture: Snapchat / Alex Sul)
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She added: ‘I was shocked to see them posing with the lion cub.
‘They might have been looking for beer but they only drank tea and coffee at the menagerie.’
Sheena went on: ‘They are Everton fans and they have each got four shirts with the Everton and England badge on.
‘They have always wanted to go to the World Cup. They have tickets for all of England’s group games and they are hopefully going to see England go all the way and win the final.
They are due to fly home on December 20.’
Digital marketer Alex who is currently sporting a moustache for Movember had told how he and John ended up in the palace after going on a ‘hunt for beers’ on Saturday.
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.’
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Alex and his dad and his friend John had a mad night out when they first landed in Qatar and have spoken out for the first time about what happened.
