A West Ham supporting multi-millionaire has quit his club to focus on other interests 13 years after being beaten to a Hammers takeover.
Over a decade since launching a doomed takeover bid for West Ham, money man Tony Fernandes has quit the club he did end up buying, QPR.
West Ham fan Fernandes stepped down as Queens Park Rangers chairman back in 2018 and now he has departed Loftus Road altogether.
They may be on opposite sides of London but QPR’s predicament and the situation since Fernandes was part of the takeover there has been of interest to Hammers fans.
Back in 2010 David Sullivan and the late David Gold beat lifelong West Ham fan Fernandes in the race to buy the east London club with the latter ending up at Queens Park Rangers instead.
At the time many West Ham fans actually wanted the Air Asia owner and founder of the F1 Caterham team over the two David’s.
But the proof, as they say, is in the pudding.
While it has not been plain sailing by any means, West Ham continue to ride the Premier League gravy train, have just won their first major trophy in 43 years and – as a result – qualified for Europe for the third consecutive season for the first time in the club’s history.
West Ham now have Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky – worth a reported £7.5bn – as their second largest stakeholder. And the club is ranked the 15th most lucrative in world football too according to the Deloitte 2023 Football Money League.
Meanwhile, QPR continue to languish in the second tier and have been battling financial difficulties for years having paid out a £42m settlement for breaching Financial Fair Play rules as well as being hit with a £17m fine and transfer ban back in 2019.
If the Fernandes and Sullivan-Gold takeover battle was a sliding doors moment – then West Ham most definitely came out on the right side.
Now the West Ham supporting multi-millionaire has quit the club to focus on other interests 13 years after being beaten to a Hammers takeover.
QPR and Fernandes announced yesterday that the 59-year-old Tune Group chief has decided to reduce his shareholding in the club ‘in order to concentrate his time on other business interests’.
As a result, Fernandes – who has a reported net worth of around £260m – no longer holds any shares in QPR Holdings Limited.
“Outside of family, I have experienced some of the most enjoyable moments of my life thanks to QPR,” West Ham fan Fernandes said in a statement.
“On the pitch, there have been special victories and it was an honour to be there and see us win promotion to the Premier League at Wembley Stadium.
“Off the pitch, QPR’s reputation as a true community club is something I have always been very proud of.
“I am a passionate person and that means the good times have meant so much but, equally, the tough times have hurt.
“This decision to step away is made with a heavy heart. I would like to thank the supporters who I have experienced the last decade of adventures with.
“I will continue to look out for QPR’s results and wish the board nothing but success for the future.”
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