“If he were to acquire the mentioned 25 percent of the shares, his share would increase to 52 percent and he would thus become the majority shareholder of the club,” he wrote on Monday morning. Football Insider with the fact that Křetínský would like to take this step.
The aforementioned David Gold, who died in January at the age of 86, bought West Ham in 2010 with David Sullivan, who still holds 38.8 percent. Krétínský should eventually pay approximately 150 million pounds, almost four billion crowns, for Gold’s share.
Křetínský joined the famous club, where Czech footballers Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal are currently active, in 2021. At that time, he invested five billion. It has an agreed option with the other majority owners, on the basis of which it can buy out their shares and gain absolute dominance. According to foreign sources, this scenario could occur within the next few months, i.e. before the start of the next competition year.
According to Forbes magazine, the richest Czech in 2022 (reported wealth over 118 billion crowns) is known in the Czech football environment mainly as a co-owner of Sparta Prague, where the majority owner is the company 1890s holdings as, in which Křetínský holds a total of 56 percent and one share in addition.
But here comes a problem. If 1890s Holdings were to increase its share of shares in West Ham to a majority, it would have to adjust its share in the Czech entity. UEFA rules do not allow the simultaneous start in European cups of clubs owned by the same company.
This scenario is certainly not out of the question, as Sparta is in the title game and awaits an opponent for the MOL Cup semi-finals. West Ham is in a slightly more difficult position, fighting for survival in the Premier League. However, he could enter Europe as the winner of the Conference League, where he is in the round of 16 and, according to paper assumptions, he is among the biggest favourites.
Football program Přímák, whose guest was coach Michal HorňákVideo: Sport.cz
The following weeks will show how the whole situation surrounding the “Hammers” and the influence of the Czech businessman will develop. At the same time, The Times claimed a few days ago that Křetínský was not considering a purchase, precisely because of the impending relegation from the top league.
The 47-year-old Křetínský is also a member of the board of directors at West Ham. In Ostrovy, among other things, he also owns a stake in the Royal Mail post office and owns shares in the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. In the Czech Republic, for example, he owns the Czech News Center media house.
