Former owner Milan Mandaric says he will attempt to buy back troubled Sheffield Wednesday in order to save the club from being “destroyed” under current chairman Dejphon Chansiri.
Mandaric, an 86-year-old Serbian-American, owned the Owls between November 2010 and January 2015 before selling the club to Chansiri. He told a BBC Radio Sheffield Football Heaven Special he intends to put together a “rescue” package.
Mandaric will fly into the UK next week, hoping for talks with Chansiri as he seeks to launch a viable takeover bid for the financially-stricken Championship outfit.
On Wednesday, the EFL informed the club it would face spending restrictions over the next three transfer windows because of failures to pay wages on time.
“It needs a big rescue now – all of us who love football and love Sheffield [Wednesday] have no doubt about that,” Mandaric said.
The ex-Owls owner said he would be consulting former Wednesday chief executive Paul Aldridge and ex-finance director John Redgate – who both worked at the club under Mandaric – about the “possibility” of a takeover.
“I am going to definitely try to see him [Chansiri] with my people and be very straight in telling him that he is going to destroy the club unless he lets new people like me get involved,” Mandaric added.
Mandaric has had three spells as an owner in England – at Portsmouth for seven years from May 1999 and Leicester City between February 2007 and the summer of 2010 before taking over at Hillsborough.
He did not clarify whether he wanted full control of the club again or if he intends to head up a wider ownership group but Mandaric was clear that Chansiri’s high valuation of the cash-strapped club remains a likely obstacle to a deal.
“I would have to get involved myself and I have no problem with that but two things – you have to find the right person but also you have to have Mr Chansiri agree on that,” Mandaric added.
“That is a difficult part. He doesn’t want to sell it because he is asking for a crazy price.”
Mandaric admitted to feeling some responsibility for Wednesday’s current plight, 24 hours before the club were hit with EFL sanctions for unpaid debts and wages.
But he said he believed selling to Chansiri a decade ago would have a similar outcome to when he sold the Foxes to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in 2010.
“He [Chansiri] gave all the commitment in the world that he has got money, that he has got desire and he had a family there who all talked the same way,” said Mandaric.
“I was relaxed and believed that he would continue to do a good job. I did the same thing with Leicester City and Vichai. He took the club to as high a level as he could and I had a similar feeling from Mr Chansiri when I sold him the club.
“But we all know what happened after that. Things didn’t work quite well. Loyal supporters are suffering the most.”
