Fans of West Ham United have been discussing their thoughts on a takeover after rumours of a Red Bull ownership surfaced.
After the link between the Hammers and Red Bull initially surfaced in 2016 (per The Independent), speculation re-emerged from Football Insider in February. This sparked a discussion among Irons fans on Twitter. (via @WHUFCFZ).
I see rumours of a Red Bull takeover at West Ham have risen once again.
Whilst it's likely to not be true, I can only hope that someone like them come in and buy the club. People don't understand how much that would change our club for the better.#WHUFC #COYI
— West Ham Fan Zone (@WHUFCFZ) April 22, 2020
Apart from a pot of cash what would it bring? Still need the right people to do the job. As has been proven elsewhere rich owners doesn’t guarantee success
— Darren Nash (@vehiclebroker) April 23, 2020
Is this a joke, You do know that red bull fans started their own teams because of this and the red bull teams in germany and switzerland are the jokes of the league, mocked by other fans.
— Dave Keen (@davidkeen1989) April 23, 2020
be careful what you wish for, every club they have is Red Bull ____ I certainly would rather see us back in the Championship than become Red Bull West Ham
If it 100% guarenteed no name change, could not care less if they have the logo on shirts n name stadium Red bull stadium
— Bryan Ferry’s Ferries (@KevTwine86) April 23, 2020
If West Ham were guaranteed Champions League football, would you mind a takeover and being re-named Red Bull West Ham?Yes, that would be awfulNo, long as we're winning |
However, while fans discussed the possibility of a Red Bull takeover, one of the club’s owners, David Gold, hit out at the rumours via an interview with Claret and Hugh recently by labelling any supposed interest a “complete fabrication”.
After @WHUFCFZ posted their thoughts on a Red Bull takeover, though, the London Stadium faithful continued having their say on the matter.
These pages get paid for clicks & site traffic … don’t believe anything you read at the moment!
— Kev Summers ? (@KevSummers82) April 23, 2020
I disagree…I think you’ll really see what it’s like to have owners who don’t care about our culture is like. Netflix doc about our demise set for 2022 I’d say
— Ian Rivers (@IanRivers8) April 23, 2020
We’ve got owners like that now.
The worst we have ever had.
Disgusting people.— Richard (@Richardod64) April 23, 2020
There is absolutely no truth in Red Bull purchasing West Ham.
GBS will not sell until AT LEAST May 2021 due to them having to pay extra tax on the sale of the club (if sold within 5 or 7 years) which was included in the contract when they signed the 99 year London Stadium lease.
— Forever_Boleyn (@Forever_Boleyn) April 22, 2020
What do we think?
As can be seen in the responses from West Ham fans, while there were a few mutterings of agreement, the majority of supporters would not like to see Red Bull or a similar company take over the Hammers.
However, with Gold having publicly stated that the rumours are a “complete fabrication” anyway (per Claret and Hugh), any takeover in the immediate future seems unlikely.