The Top Flight
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Southampton begin new era with £100m Serb takeover

By Matthew Bottomley

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: General view of a Southampton badge on a corner flag inside of the stadium ahead of the FA Cup Third Round match between Southampton and Shrewsbury Town on January 19, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: General view of a Southampton badge on a corner flag inside of the stadium ahead of the FA Cup Third Round match between Southampton and Shrewsbury Town on January 19, 2021 in Southampton, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /
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Southampton have successfully been taken over by a company backed by Serbian media mogul Dragan Solak.

The 80% stake in the club, was purchased for around £100 million. The remaining 20% remains with Katharina Liebherr, who inherited the club from her father, when the club was in League One, over ten years ago.

The Club’s CEO, Martin Semmens, says the time is right to bring in new investors to the football club.

"“It is a pivotal moment in time,” he told BBC Radio Solent.“We have reorganised our plan and set out our path and Sport Republic were the right group to take that forward as they have the same values and beliefs as us.“It’s a bit like being on a dating process and we had to make sure we chose the right partner. Sometimes you need to go on a lot of dates to find the right partner and I think we have done that now.“There is a lot of wealth and rich people on the market and it can be unsettling. There are also lots of people who want to get involved in football but don’t have the right resources.“First and foremost, we were looking for good people and experienced investors – and we have found that.”"

The change of ownership seems in the best interest of everyone, with outgoing owner Gao Jisheng, who purchased his stake in 2017, seeing his investment cut after owning the club for just weeks. In this scenario, he escapes and the club gets some well needed new investment. The Idea will be to push on, and after Southampton have cemented their place in the Premier League, actually makes some waves, like was in place under Mauricio Pochettino .

Next. Everton snap up highly rated Nathan Patterson. dark

No one knows just what the new ownership will be like, but they have their hands on a stable club with a very valuable academy, the building blocks for a top half team.

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