Sunderland AFC news: Reports suggest co-owner Juan Sartori set for prominent role at European club

French publication L’Équipe state that Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev has decided to sack all of vice-president Oleg Petrov, sporting director Paul Mitchell, and manager Philippe Clement in the near future after recent bad results.

The Russian owner is the father in-in-law of Juan Sartori who – it has been claimed – could be set to play a greater role at the club, having joined the board at the back end of last year.

Sartori is also thought to be an ally of Sunderland executive shareholder Kyril Louis-Dreyfus despite the Uruguayan’s links to Charlie Methven and Stewart Donald.

The Uruguayan initially stepped down as a director in the aftermath of Louis-Dreyfus buying a majority shareholding earlier in 2021, but returned when the new board was appointed.

Sartori has visited the Stadium of Light on a semi-regular basis over the past season and has reportedly been looked at the prospect of establishing a network of clubs.

Louis-Dreyfus met with the supporters collective earlier this month after there was widespread outrage amongst the fanbase that a year after his arrival, it was revealed that he owned only a 41% stake in the club.

That has renewed calls for the departure of the Madrox consortium, with Donald and Charlie Methven then stating publicly that they would sell their remaining 39% share for £11.7 million (valuing the club at £30 million as a whole).

Louis-Dreyfus has signalled that he is unlikely to meet that price, and has said that he would be open to a third party acquiring those shares if they are prepared to meet it.

Minutes from a recent meeting between clubs and fan groups confirmed that Lous-Dreyfus has attempted to purchase Donald and Methven’s remaining shares – but not Sartori’s.

The record also confirmed that Juan Sartori, who has a 20% stake in the club, is not looking to sell, and signalled that he is now closely aligned with Louis-Dreyfus behind the scenes.

"It was advised that Juan intends to work with KLD to bring the club back to the Premier League and while he is busy with politics, remains committed to the club."

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