Southampton Owner Looking to Sell Majority Share After Failing to Turn Club Into 'Powerhouse'

23 November 2019 09:41

​Chinese billionaire Gao Jisheng is looking to sell his 80% share in the club after failing to turn the Saints into a Premier League powerhouse.


After completing his takeover of the club back in August 2017, Gao has seen Southampton finish 17th and 16th in the league table, while they currently find themselves 19th in the standings after an abysmal start to the campaign.

Gao Jisheng

Gao has denied that he is looking to sell the club on for a profit, but ​The Independent claim that he has actually been looking to get rid of his shares in the club for the last six months, demanding around £200m from any potential buyers.


From a strictly business point of view, ​Southampton have actually been relatively successful under Gao's ownership, posting post-tax profits of nearly £27m back in 2018. Unfortunately, that success has not carried over onto the pitch.


Losing director Les Reed left the club struggling, and the departure of chairman Ralph Krueger - who was replaced on the board by Gao himself - has only worsened their problems.

Ralph Hasenhuttl

There are doubts over the club's sustainability under the current ownership. Gao may know how to keep making money at Southampton, but the lack of planning and direction has led to fears that Ralph Hasenhüttl's squad simply does not have enough to survive in the top flight anymore.


Given their current uncertainty in the ​Premier League, Southampton are hardly the most intriguing prospect for buyers. Gao has struggled to find somebody to meet his asking price, given the Saints still have a lot of work to do to ensure they do not drop into the ​Championship next summer.

James Ward-Prowse

A January spending spree is touted as a potential option, perhaps as one final roll of the dice from Gao, but whether the club will actually target the right signings is a different question entirely.


The Saints have lost six of their last seven league games, including the humiliating 9-0 mauling at the hands of ​Leicester City, and they currently find themselves three points adrift from safety.


For more from Tom Gott, follow him on Twitter!

Source: 90min