Short resorts to giving Sunderland away
Sunderland owner Ellis Short is now so desperate to rid himself of the club that he is prepared to give the club away for free, assuming any potential new owner would take on the club's outstanding debts.
After reports emerged that Ellis Short was prepared to sell Sunderland for as little as £50million, 'BBCSport' today revealed that the American businessman could, in fact, be prepared to give the club away.
Short was reportedly asking for around £170million when he first put the club up for sale in 2016 as a Premier League club, and this would represent a huge fall in value.
Around half of the club's debts are owed to Short himself, but the interest payments on the remaining balance, around £68million owed to Security Bank Corporation, weigh in at some £8million per year. According to the most recent figures published, Sunderland's total debt stands at £137.3million.
Speaking in November, Short said: "I may or may not sell the club in the future, that's not completely out of my control, but mostly it is out of my control.
"As long as I own it I'm going to be focused on what is good for the club, and the immediate focus is getting out of the situation we're in now."
Sunderland are a club in crisis, staring down the barrel of a second successive relegation and League One football next season, following their relegation from the Premier League in 2017.