David Sullivan is now considering selling his majority 38.8 per cent stake in West Ham but what has Daniel Kretinsky actually said about a full takeover?
Many West Ham fans are assuming Daniel Kretinsky will ride in on his white horse in the wake of David Sullivan’s exit at the weekend.
Just weeks ago Sullivan confirmed he wanted to increase his stake in West Ham to match the intentions of Kretinsky’s own move to buy up more shares.
That has not taken place at the time of writing and now Sullivan is open to selling his Hammers stake following his resignation.
What Kretinsky has said about a full West Ham takeover
Does that automatically mean Kretinsky will buy them up to become majority owner, though?
Many Hammers fans seem to believe that scenario is a shoo-in.
How do you feel NOW about a full Daniel Kretinsky takeover? 💰
Sullivan out at all costs? Or has the Czech ship sailed?
But there has been little evidence in the past that Kretinsky has the appetite or desire to be the majority owner at West Ham, like he is at his beloved boyhood club Sparta Prague.
So what has Kretinsky actually said about a West Ham takeover as Sullivan decides to sell?
Secretive Kretinsky rarely does interviews.
He has addressed West Ham fans less than a handful of times since his arrival in November 2021.
The ‘Czech Sphinx’ has only ever spoken about the possibility of increasing his Hammers stake twice.
Recently on a podcast and two years ago in a TV interview – both in his homeland.
Kretinsky non-committal over full ownership of West Ham after ruling it out in 2024
On both occasions, Kretinsky has been non-committal about a full takeover.
“Emotionally I can’t handle Sparta matches, that’s the way it is,” Kretinsky told Czech podcast Vsechno zacina dnes.
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“In West Ham, we’re a minority shareholder, we don’t control the club, but of course we are a part of the important conversations.
“It kind of helps that you don’t have the ultimate responsibility so you don’t feel you messed up something for the fans. But I’ve found my stress limit here, too. We’ve made mistakes in the past that have cost us relegation.
“Definitely (I will stay on). It doesn’t matter if we’re in first or the second tier. That’s not a reason to abandon the club. A reason for that would be if we could not agree on a strategy with other shareholders, but not a relegation.
“Now that we’re down, I will try to find any possible way I can (to) contribute to West Ham’s return to the Premier League. We’ll see (if I will have a bigger share). But I see it as a duty getting us promoted.”
Two years ago, Kretinsky sounded keen to increase his stake but less so about owning West Ham outright.
In fact Kretinsky went on record to publicly state “it is not part of our thinking that we would become a sole controlling shareholder of West Ham”.
It remains to be seen whether the fact the landscape has clearly now changed will alter that stance.
“I don’t think it’s on the table,” Kretinsky said about a full West Ham takeover with a wry smile in the 2024 TV interview, which you can see below.
“First of all when we talk about Premier League we talk strictly about West Ham, right. My heart is with West Ham and any other club would never interest me.
“We are happy with our shareholding I have to say. I can also say that it is not part of our thinking that we would become a sole controlling shareholder of West Ham.
“But if there is an opportunity to somehow increase our stake without becoming majority (owners) we would be very open to that and I would be proud to be able to even tighten the link with the club.
“But at the same time I have to say that the co-operation and other things amongst the shareholders is very good and I feel very comfortable in the role in which we are and very grateful for this role.”
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