After purchasing the Royals in May 2017, Yongge—who amassed his wealth through an empire of Chinese shopping centres and an investment holding company named Renhe Commercial Holdings Company Limited—proved to be an inept owner, earning him a great deal of resentment from the team’s supporters.
With the team in grave financial circumstances, the supporters of the club forced the cancellation of a recent match against Port Vale after invading the pitch in the first half in protest against Yongge.
EFL has ordered Yongge to sell the team or find new funding; pro-choice organisations like ‘Sell Before We Dai’ are pressuring him to choose the latter course of action before it’s too late.
The Reading takeover situation
For the club’s supporters, the Reading takeover scenario has been a protracted tale filled with many false dawns.
The EFL declared that Yongge was “no longer in a position – or does not have the motivation” to financially support the team following the postponed match against Port Vale.
Over the past few months, there have been a lot of interested parties. Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has been connected to a return to English football, with a reported transfer to the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
But no agreement has been reached, and Yongge is still leading the team.
Ben Francis, the millionaire owner of Gymshark, was reportedly close to completing a buyout of the team, but he swiftly clarified on social media that he had no interest in purchasing the team.
Through X, Francis stated: “I apologise, but this is untrue. I’m a devoted Villa supporter who has no affiliation with any other team. Besides, I work at Gymshark way too much! Best wishes, and I hope you can resolve things.”
For the club, which is in a frantic search for a new owner, it proved to be yet another frustrating false dawn.
Eight parties are reportedly interested in the club, according to the BBC, although any sale of the club won’t be finalised for at least a few months.
Former Royals CEO Nigel Howe stated to the BBC that Dai was now determined to sell after previously being unsure whether to accept further financing or sell.
Eventually, he reached the conclusion that a complete disposal is the wisest course of action, according to Howe.
“We’ve been contacted directly by a good seven or eight bidders.”
Even though this is encouraging, it’s not ideal for the club because it means Yongge will continue to be in control for a few months at least.
The future for Reading FC
Under manager Rubén Sellés, the team faces a formidable struggle to stay in League One, and it would be an incredible accomplishment if they could stave off relegation.
The fans of the club would have good cause for optimism if Reading could remain in the league and an agreement could be reached for Yongge to sell the team.
Even in the event of relegation, the team might rebuild in League Two under a new owner.
Right now, finding a new owner may be more crucial for the club than any football-related issues. There is no team that deserves more luck than Reading after a turbulent few seasons, and you get the impression that most EFL supporters will be hoping for positive news soon.
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