Sampdoria owner Massimo Ferrero has expressed his ‘surprise’ at reports that the club is set to be sold to Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani. News has circulated in Italy that the beleaguered club are close to be sold to Radrizzani in the coming days, following an official announcement on the Sampdoria club website that stated:
“The Board of Directors of the U.C. Sampdoria S.p.A. announces that during the night a preliminary agreement was signed for the finalization of a capital increase in the company by Gestio Capital and Aser Holding.
“The proposal presented by Gestio Capital and Aser Holding proved to be more in line with the interest of the company’s creditors and the recovery plan prepared by the club and, at the same time, adequate guarantees were given for the future of Sampdoria.
“The completion of this transaction is conditional on the completion of the preliminary activities to the presentation of the application for the Debt Restructuring Agreement, including, inter alia, the agreements with the company’s creditors.
“We thank Gestio Capital and Aser Holding for their efforts in recent days to achieve this result, aware that we still have many activities and busy days ahead of us to finalize the deal.
“We also take this opportunity to thank Alessandro Barnaba and Merlyn Partners for the interest shown and for the commitment and the attention they have dedicated to the company.”
Ferrero has released a statement of his own, suggesting the potential sale agreement talk has come as a surprise:
“We read with surprise the press release issued now by Sampdoria, according to which an agreement has been signed for the capital increase in the company by Gestio Capital and Aser Holding.
“In this regard, we point out that neither the owners nor the trustee have received a proposal to purchase the shares from the aforementioned companies or others, as no one has really made offers to them.
“If and when purchase proposals are made, the trustee and the estate will evaluate them for their sustainability.
“Furthermore, the board of directors cannot in any way commit the ownership or the trustee, nor can it take their place in decisions on the capital increase, which are the sole responsibility of the shareholders’ meeting.
“Any act in detrimental to the rights of the shareholders shall be subject to immediate legal action in civil and criminal courts.”
Radrizzani and Ferrero are expected to meet In Milan later today to try and finalise an agreement over the sale of Sampdoria.
