Kieran Maguire: John Reece takeover could transform Sunderland – ‘He doesn’t worry about money’
John Reece could use his astronomical wealth to transform Sunderland across departments that are exempt from Financial Fair Play.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the future ownership structure at the Stadium of Light.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus currently owns 41 per cent of the Black Cats, with the remaining equity under the control of Stewart Donald, Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori.
Donald and Methven are looking for a way out and, per the Sunderland Echo on Wednesday (1 May), there has been some suggestion that Reece, 65, is keen to purchase their shares.
Sunderland-born Reece is worth £4.2billion and is among the 500 wealthiest people in the world, according to Forbes.
And Maguire explains that, while the EFL’s FFP rules mean they could not go wild in the transfer market, Sunderland could make gains in terms of infrastructure.
“A wealthy individual who can take a holistic approach to the club can invest in the areas that are exempt from the vagueries of Financial Fair Play,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“If you start to upgrade the training facilities and so on, you start to get the marginal gains that are so important for a club to progress through the divisions.
“With Donald and Methven, they are very pound-conscious and have been for a long time. They have been looking to make money and flip the club since the day they bought into it.
“A person with this level of wealth doesn’t have to worry about making money and can concern himself with the matters that need to be addressed.”
In other news, Oxford United agree new deal with Alex Gorrin after Sunderland contact.