Nottingham Forest will have to pay former owner Fawaz Al Hasawi £4.2 million after losing a legal fight over the financial fallout from his sale of the club.
Mr Al-Hasawi triumphed at the High Court in London after a judge rejected the club's claims that the amount had been offset by losses it incurred.
In a ruling on Friday, Judge Stuart Isaacs QC said there were no sums to be set off against the amount, which Mr Al Hasawi paid in loans during negotiations over the club's sale to Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis in May 2017.
The judge said Mr Al Hasawi bought Forest in 2012 and "invested heavily" in the club's training ground, academy and match day facilities at the stadium.
Forest narrowly avoided relegation to League One on goal difference in Mr Al-Hasawi's last season as owner of the club.
Forest are yet to comment on the verdict.
