By Paul Nicholson
January 20 – The richest man in China is rumoured to be lining up a move into Premier League football by buying Southampton. Last week Southampton’s chairman Nicola Cortese resigned, prompting immediate speculation that the Liebherr family who own the club were ready to sell.
Wang Jianlin has been mooted as a potential buyer of the Saints for a while, he recently bought luxury yacht builder Sunseeker which then became a sponsor of the south coast club.
Jianlin is no stranger to football investment. In the 1990s he owned China’s top team Dalian Wanda, and three years ago, his company sponsored the Chinese Football Association as well as the China Super League. His property development business, Dalian Wander, is currently worth £19 billion. His personal wealth was estimated by Forbes magazine as $8.6 billion.
Southampton are currently enjoying their best season in the Premier League for two decades, having plummeted to League 1 after boardroom upheaval and points deductions for entering receivership.
The Liebherr family acquired the club in 2009, investing more than £39 miilion over three years to get the club back into the Premier League. Some valuations of the club have put it as high as £175 million – and a deal at that price would see the Liebherrs more than double their money.
Any buyer taking control of Saints would get a club that already looks to be substantially clear of any relegation issues this season, and with a football management team, youth system and youth players emerging into its first team that are the envy of many other clubs in the Premier League.
The club also has the marketing advantage of being in a wealthy area of the country and being the only Premier League club for 70 miles (Chelsea being its nearest).
Markus Liebherr, who acquired the club, passed away in 2010, leaving his estate to be run by his daughter Katharina. She is reported to have no interest in English football, though generally left Cortese to run the business to his own plan, though with the support of the family’s money.
Cortese is rumoured to be in the wings to return if a sale is made.
Look out for John Yan’s column from China on Wang Jianlin later this week.
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