US billionaire considering huge takeover at Portsmouth’s troubled Championship rivals
Pompey’s Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday could be set for fresh investment.
Billionaire John Textor is considering a move to buy Pompey’s Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
Our sister paper, The Star, have reported the US businessman is viewing the Owls as a potential investment along with a handful of other second-tier clubs.
It comes just a day after the 59-year-old sold his stake in Premier League side Crystal Palace for £190m, in a move which could boost the Eagles’ European football hopes.
There were fears Textor’s co-ownership with fellow Europa League side Lyon could’ve seen Oliver Glasner’s men kicked out of the competition by UEFA - although those concerns have since been eased.
The Eagle Football Group owner, whose stable include Brazilian side Botafogo, Belgian outfit Daring Brussels as well as the French giants - is now looking to re-invest in English football.
Sheffield Wednesday are believed to be one of the options being considered by the former Crystal Palace chief amid financial turmoil behind the scenes at Hillsborough.
Danny Rohl’s men were last week handed a three-window registration embargo by the EFL after failing to pay staff and players’ wages for May within a 14-day deadline.
Those salaries are still to be fulfilled by controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri, with the PFA calling the situation ‘unacceptable.’
It has even seen former Pompey loanee Di’Shon Bernard to take to social media to voice the frustrations from inside the dressing room at Hillsborough as the wait continues for those payments.
There is still strong interest in the Owls, with a Florida-based consortium having two bids knocked back by the Thai businessman, who is looking to recoup some of the money he’s spent during his troublesome decade in charge.
With the situation worsening in the Steel City, Milan Mandaric, who sold Sheffield Wednesday to Chansiri for £37.5m in 2015, is flying into England this week to hold crisis talks with the 57-year-old.
Ex-Pompey owner Milan Mandaric set for crucial talks with Sheffield Wednesday chief
Mandaric, who saved Pompey in 1999 before guiding the club to the Premier League in 2003, told BBC Radio Sheffield last week: ‘I am not happy, I have a tremendous relationship with the supporters, I will never forget that relationship and their love for the club and their team and everything else. They definitely deserve a lot better than they are getting now.
‘He gave me all the commitments in the world that he had the money and desire, he had a family there. I was not very happy to leave the club, but there were circumstances. It was my time to leave, I was kind of reluctant, but relieved that he would continue to do a good job.
‘If you remember, I did the same at Leicester with Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and he continued everything we agreed and he took the club to as high a level as he could. I had similar feelings for Chansiri when I sold him the club but we all know what happened after that.
‘It definitely needs a big rescue now, we all know that, all of us who love football and who love Sheffield Wednesday, there is no doubt about that. I am arriving in London at the end of next week. I am going to talk to some people about that, I have planned to do so.
‘I have my ex-manager Paul Aldridge and John Redgate. They all work for me and know what's going on - and I will see what the possibility is of taking over that club.
‘I will have to get involved myself, I have no problem with that, but there are two things. You have to find the right person, but, more importantly, you have to have Mr Chansiri to agree on that - and that is the difficult part right here to be honest with you.
‘For some reason, he doesn't want to sell it because he is asking a crazy price, you will not get more than £100m, he is going to be an obstacle, but I will give it a try, I will not give it up, I am going to test him when I come there.
‘I will be very straight with him, he is going to destroy the club in the end unless he does something and doesn’t let new people like me get involved in the club and try to help and get a relationship with supporters.’