Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has recently aired a possible concern regarding Sunderland’s prospective owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
It has recently been reported that Stewart Donald has agreed to sell the club to a consortium which is led by minority Sunderland shareholder Juan Sartori and Louis-Dreyfus (per The Guardian).
In this deal to sell the Black Cats, it is believed that Donald will be retaining a 15% stake in the North-East outfit.
Kyril is just 22 years old and is also the son of Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who passed away in 2009 and used to be the owner of French giants Olympique Marseille.
During the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed the Black Cats’ prospective owner and aired a possible issue with him.
He said: “The money is certainly there. My only concern is, is there an element of parents giving the child [a football club]? ‘I’m not going to get you an Xbox this Christmas, I’m not going to get you the latest Lego – I’m going to buy you a football club instead.’
“We’ve seen too often where new owners have come in who are wealthy, who perhaps have good intentions, they can be taken advantage of by people who are exploiting their naivety, perhaps.
“If you look at some of the owners who have actually been very generous – Sheffield Wednesday’s owner, Dejphon Chansiri, he’s put his money where his mouth is left, right and centre; but sometimes you think he’s not, perhaps, been well advised.
“So, that would be my reservation. If he appoints the right person as chief executive and director of football, then I think this could be a real step up for Sunderland.”
TIF Thoughts on what Kieran Maguire said about Kyril Louis-Dreyfus…
Judging from what Maguire had to say, his concern is that Louis-Dreyfus may not act in an advised way if he takes over Sunderland, however, he still believes he could be a “real step up” for the club.
Are you excited by the prospect of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus owning Sunderland?
No, I'm worried about it
Yes, he'll be good for us
According to The Guardian’s report, Sartori, who already has a 20% stake in the Black Cats, is behind the move to bring Louis-Dreyfus to the North East.
So, you would expect that, with the minority shareholder having owned part of the club alongside Donald and having sought out the club’s potential new owner, Sartori believes Louis-Dreyfus is a step up.