Sunderland fans have once again been left incandescent with rage after recent revelations regarding the true ownership of the club, being misled once more by the Black Cats hierarchy, as the club revealed that the former owners still hold a majority share.
Chaos and treachery has surrounded the club once again, as the fans believed that with Swiss-French billionaire Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, having took over Sunderland in February 2021, was now believed to be the majority shareholder.
With the former ownership, The Madrox Group consisting of the owners present in the infamous ‘Sunderland till I die’ Netflix documentary, Stewart Donald, Juan Satori and the hilariously cringe-worthy Charlie Methven, still retaining a minority share hold on Wearside.
However, amid months of speculation and unanswered questions from the Sunderland faithful, Louis-Dreyfus revealed he only yields a 41 per cent stake in the club; yet it has been cowardly hidden that Donald, Satori and the main figure of ridicule, Methven, still grasp a comprised stake of the remaining 59 percent.
In a statement to the supporters, 25 year old Louis-Dreyfus wrote that: “As previously stated, I have executive control of the running of the football club – something that was a fundamental requirement upon the purchase of my shares – and the executive management team… report to me on a day to day basis.”
“Over the past 12 months, SAFC has required significant shareholder funding as part of our ongoing investment within the club… all shareholders remain wholly committed to honouring their respective financial obligations.”
The reason for the Black Cats fans being left with a bitter and angry taste in their mouth, is that as the former owners became so unpopular towards the end of their reign, yet still retain such power in the club given their requirement to fund the club.
Especially, given the sacking of Lee Johnson earlier this year and the long awaited arrival of new manager, former Norwich and Preston boss Alex Neil, has cast a shadow of doubt over every decision made at the Stadium of Light this season both in the dugout and on the pitch.
Having been deprived of optimism for so long, Sunderland fans finally thought that Louis-Dreyfus was a young owner, willing to fuel the club with ample financial backing and oversee the clubs return to their former glory with trust.
Yet in light of the recent findings, that trust has certainly been marred from a fan perspective, possibly irreparably, given there is such distain for the Madrox Group on Wearside.
A spokesperson for Stewart Donald, the man with the largest share in the majority owners’ group, stated that:
“Stewart’s only active involvement has been covering his pro-rata funding commitment.”
Methven outlined to The Athletic that, “Like Stewart, I would be very happy to sell my shares. But in the meantime, I will continue to provide my share of the financing of the club.”
Despite this, Sunderland supporters inevitably distrust these statements and have been once again coaxed into believing in falsities, combining lying owners with severely deflating performances on the pitch with only one win in their last seven outings.
It has left the red and white army disenfranchised and impoverished with hope of a rise from the ashes of the third tier of English Football.