Anyone want Sunderland for £50m ... me neither

Sunderland owner Ellis Short has slashed his asking price for the club to £50million.


The Black Cats owner was looking to sell the club in the summer after they were relegated to the Championship, nine years after he took control.

Reports suggested the American wanted £80million, with some additional clauses built into the deal, and talks with a German consortium reached an advanced stage before Short pulled out of negotiations.

Now, a report in the Mirror claims Short has reduced his asking price to £50million with Sunderland teetering on the brink of another relegation, this time to League One.

The Echo understands that while the club won't comment on the story, Short IS willing to accept a reduced price.

Short, speaking back in November, claimed he wasn't actively looking to sell the football club, but would consider any offers that arose.

He said of the proposed summer takeover: "At the time, I was entertaining offers to buy the club. I had hired an adviser to process that.

"There was one group that we did have some advanced discussions with. I decided not to do that transaction and I have heard some criticism that because of the depth of the emotion that possibly I should have done that. But that comes from people who don’t know anything about the circumstances of that transaction, the circumstances of the buyer.

"I’ve got the interests of the club at heart and I’m not going to do anything that is not good for the club. I do understand that the fans want me out but I am certain that they would not have been happy with that transaction, and that is why it did not get done.

"Now, there is no longer an adviser, the club is not officially for sale. If there is a legitimate buyer that I can have a direct conversation with and it is a credible person, like probably any other owner of an English football team, I’ll have a conversation.

"I may or may not sell the club in the future, that’s not completely out of my control, but mostly it is out of my control. As long as I own it I’m going to be focused on what is good for the club, and the immediate focus is getting out of the situation we’re in now."