Reading’s owner, Dai Yongge, has faced lots of protests this season. The club have been hit with three separate points deductions this season, taking a total of six points from their overall tally for the 2023/24 League One campaign, for breaches of various financial regulations.
Over the past three seasons, the Royals have had 18 points taken from them. It’s only because of Ruben Selles, and his players, that the club aren’t sinking down the football pyramid.
The situation becomes even more dire when one reads about stories like players being forced to spend overnight at hotels before games and personnel being forced to wear coats in their offices due to the club’s lack of funding for heating, according to The Athletic.
The EFL instructed Yongge in mid-January to sell his controlling interest to someone who could adequately fund the team, or else.
Numerous organisations and people have been connected to acquiring Reading, such as Mike Ashley, the owner of Newcastle United, and Generva Associates, who are reportedly back in the running after their £40 million offer for the team in November fell through, according to iNews.
German businessman Daniel Loitz made one of the more recent bids. His January bid, according to iNews, was in the neighbourhood of £28 million, but they were also informed that he was unable to furnish the EFL with evidence of his financial situation.
Having having invested in several women’s teams and a Canadian franchise league, Loitz already has a deep connection to the sport. According to iNews, The Telegraph has also stated that he is in advanced talks to purchase London Irish, a rugby union team. If successful, the club would transfer its home games to the Select Car Leasing Stadium. Sky Sports is aware that he is now in negotiations for these two potential transfers.
Now, the German has come clean about his plans to purchase the EFL’s third division franchise.
Daniel Loitz on Reading takeover bid
In an interview with iNews, Loitz attacked Yongge and denied any indication that he had failed the proof of funds checks. The investor said, “This is the wildest thing.” “I already completed the procedure of proving my finances through bank verification, and I submitted all the necessary paperwork in January. I have the money available, as attested to by account managers, JP Morgan, and Revolut Business.
“In order to get accepted by the EFL, you must demonstrate the purchase price, your two years of funding, and your buy plan. I’ve already gone through all of that; we have the account statements, account confirmation, audit confirmation, and the account manager’s signature.
Reading fans should be furious with sale situation
We have to believe Loitz when he says he has the money to buy the club and operate it correctly. If so, it is understandable that Reading supporters might have concerns about the EFL’s handling of Yongge’s 2017 purchase of the team.
At the time, there was a lot of excitement about the club. It was difficult to forecast their demise, especially with a new set of owners and a play-off final approaching. However, there were indications that the EFL should have and could have seen.
He and his family have owned teams in China and Belgium, however those clubs have since folded due to financial difficulties. There are quite a few readings.
To put it mildly, his attempt to sell Wycombe Wanderers the club’s training facilities was blatant. This seemed to be one of the most blatant attempts at asset-stripping in the EFL’s history of bad ownership, as the team appears to be drowning in debt.
There is so much that could have been done to avoid this problem, and now the EFL is impeding a possible settlement because they seem to be worried about Loitz’s capacity to provide funding for the team. Let’s discuss irony.
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