Kieran Maguire salutes West Ham as £2m investment generates game-changing £125m windfall
The £2.2million West Ham paid to Karen Brady in 2021-22 represents good value given that she brought Daniel Kretinsky on board.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest from behind the scenes at the London Stadium.
The Times on Thursday (4 December) reported that Kretinsky, who bought 27 per cent of the Hammers for £125m in November 2021, is keen to move towards a full takeover following the death of co-owner David Gold.
The club’s recently-released accounts revealed that vice-chair Karen Brady had her salary doubled to £2.2m during 2021-22.
Per the Daily Mail last Friday (29 December), £1m of that figure was paid as a bonus for bringing Czech billionaire Kretinsky to the table.
Maguire revealed how this compares to how other directors of Premier League clubs were remunerated over the course of the financial year.
“What we have to do here is benchmark against those clubs that have also released their accounts for 2021-22,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Karen Brady’s total remuneration package of £2.2m would put her fourth in the Premier League.
“The important thing is that she has the confidence of the other owners, which very much appears to be the case.
“The £1m bonus that she earned as a result of the sale to Kretinsky is, as far the owners are concerned, valid.
“That deal generated £125m for the club and allowed them to repay loans from David Sullivan and the sadly recently departed David Gold as well.“
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