Whereas from the early meetings with Kyril, his family and advisers, I have been greatly impressed with their knowledge and understanding, learned over a long period as owners of major football clubs in Belgium and France. IF his family are involved then it's more than 2 billion coming in...
Sunderland AFC can announce that an agreement has been reached for Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to acquire Stewart Donald’s controlling interest in the club. If approved by the EFL, the deal will see Louis-Dreyfus become chairman at the Wearside club early in the New Year. Donald said: “It’s been no secret that I have been looking for some time to find the right person to take Sunderland forward and during the course of the last year there have been a lot of different people wanting to take over. However, even though it is a matter of public record that some of those bidders offered me more money, I felt that they offered less to the club and to the community. Whereas from the early meetings with Kyril, his family and advisers, I have been greatly impressed with their knowledge and understanding, learned over a long period as owners of major football clubs in Belgium and France. I believe that experience, combined with a good plan, will provide a platform for the club to progress and I look forward to watching that progress from afar.” Louis-Dreyfus said: “First, I would like to thank Stewart Donald for his integrity and reasonableness over the last three months, which has led to me having the opportunity to take a controlling stake in Sunderland AFC. I am fully aware of the efforts undertaken by the current ownership and Board to protect the viability of the Club and respect the difficulty of this task, given Sunderland’s recent past and the current economic climate. “We respectfully await the EFL’s approval for this transaction. Nonetheless it would be remiss of me at this stage not to emphasise what an enormous honour it would be for me to become involved with such a historic club, in a city renowned for its rich football culture going back to 1879. Many will be aware of my family connections to the industry and, in acquiring Sunderland AFC, I understand the responsibility that’s placed upon me as the custodian of the club’s future. “Moving forward, we have a long-term strategy which integrates Sunderland’s proud traditions with a modern structure and approach. We will seek to be at the frontier of research and innovation in all performance domains and place great emphasis on player development and the team’s style of play. We want to create a team that is entertaining to watch and that embodies the spirit and the culture of those who attend, thereby reconnecting the team with its fanbase, whose support will be so vital to our success.“In the midst of a global pandemic, we should all be aware of the difficult situation the club is currently in and the challenges we face in the months to come. However, through hard work, a diligent plan and togetherness from the Board of Directors, staff, players and supporters we can between us create a brighter future at the Stadium of Light. If we all play our parts, I firmly believe we can restore Sunderland AFC to the top tier of English football and I can’t wait to get started.” Documentation relating to the deal has been lodged today with the EFL for their scrutiny, and the Club recognises that the EFL need to approve all aspects of the transaction and business plan going forward before any change of control. Given the time of year, that process is not expected to conclude until mid-January, until which point there will be no further public comment from Sunderland AFC or Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. Get the **** in!!!!
Absolutely immense news! Huge respect and thanks to yourself, Magnus, Smug and anyone else who has passed on news recently. It really does give a lift to a lot of us in these strange times. FTM & KTF
Was swinging from the light fitting until I read it still has to go before the efl. They wouldn’t spoil this, would they? They seem to enjoy screwing us, but not with this, surely? Someone please put my mind at ease. Tell me me they won’t spoil it!
Well done to everyone who contributed to this tread. It looks like we've reached the first part of our journey. A long way to go but lets enjoy the ****er xx
Just stopped jumping round the house. Feel quite emotional now and haven't even had a drink yet. Time to change that. Get the **** in. God bless us. Everyone!
Absolutely delighted it’s been a dark year for many a reason.. but what a Christmas present Merry Christmas everyone Let’s party!! thankyou each and every one of the ITKs who have always done their very best to keep us updated getting some pathetic grief along the way..you know who you are..thankyou! STID!!
Get in! Actually a pleasant surprise he will be chairman too, think he’s going to be more hands on at least initially than I was expecting. Happy for the lads who have been giving us info despite taking ****, really appreciated and hope the drinks taste all that sweeter
Thanks for keeping us up to date Merry Christmas Roll on the New Year , roll on the vaccine (all we need is AstraZeneca approval now)
Ha’way the ****ing lads! Thank you again for all the info @Prehab26 @Smug in Boots @Magnus and the rest! Let’s hope we kick on and sign some good players in January.