Former Sunderland co-owner and director Charlie Methven has rubbished takeover speculation linking him with League One side Charlton Athletic. There had been murmurings online suggesting Methven would become chief executive at the Addicks, with national reports claiming he was involved in a consortium to buy the club.
Additional reports claim Methven was linked to Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour - a 74-year-old businessman linked with a takeover at Charlton - only for the ex-Black Cats director to pour cold water on those links. Speaking to South London Press, Methven said: “I have seen the speculation linking me with Mohamed Mansour and becoming chief exec of Charlton.
“In truth, I had never even heard of Mr Mansour, and have no intention of becoming an exec at CAFC or anywhere else for that matter. I know Thomas Sandgaard a bit ‐ I met him when Sunderland played Charlton a couple of years back and he had just taken over ownership."
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"A few weeks ago we caught up for the first time in a while, and I advised him to hire some experienced senior execs to run the club," he added. "I don’t think that was especially revolutionary advice, but he took it and I recommended a few candidates I had come across during my time in football.”
Methven has recently set up a company, SE7 Partners Limited, with Edward Warrick - Charlton's new finance director. It was this move that acted as a catalyst for speculation linking Methven with the League One side.
The Addicks have recently appointed former Sunderland chief executive - Jim Rodwell - to the role of chief operating officer. A man who Methven knows well having appointed him during his time at Sunderland.
“Ed Warrick and I were both consultants at Spurs together a few years back," Methven added. "Whilst clearly neither he nor I have the financial wherewithal ourselves to fund a takeover of any club, let alone Charlton, under the right circumstances we would put a few quid in [via SE7 Partners Limited], and if we did then we would do so together.”
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