'Don't blame me for Portsmouth cash crisis,' says former owner Alexandre Gaydamak

06 January 2010 12:08
Former Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak insists he is not to blame for the financial crisis at the club which has led to yet another delay in the players being paid.  [LNB]The current owners have tried to shift the responsibility on to the previous regime but Gaydamak, who sold the club to Sulaiman al-Fahim in August before he sold it on again to Ali Al Faraj, said he left it in good shape.   [LNB]Gaydamak claims he is owed £28million by Pompey and the club is almost the subject of a winding up petition from HM Revenue and Customs.   [LNB] Crisis club: Portsmouth are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table [LNB]Gaydamak told fansonline.net: 'It is my opinion that they [thedebts] were fully serviceable and no worse or better than any otherclub in the context of the Premier League. In fact, the debt ratio atPortsmouth was probably one of the lowest.[LNB]'The people who tried to buy the club were very persistent. Theytried to buy it in the summer and I decided not to sell to them becauseI could not be sure who was behind them and I could not be sure of thesource of their money.  [LNB] Former owner: Alexandre Gaydamak sold Portsmouth in the summer [LNB][LNB] 'These chaps knew what they were getting. They must have realisedthere is a wage bill and the tax bill to meet every month. There are nosurprises.'[LNB]Gaydamak says he has written off a further £20million.   [LNB]He added: 'I made around £50million in shareholder and directors loans to the club during my time. [LNB]New owner: Ali Al Faraj[LNB]'After Sulaiman had completed the due diligence, we sat down withhis advisors and it was agreed to sell the club for £1 with mecontinuing to guarantee the now famous £2.5million debt to Barclays andleaving loans totalling £28million of which £9million is due forrepayment this month and the rest in 2012. This was our contractualagreement, but in effect I had written off around £20million of theloans I made.'   [LNB]Club officials stated on Monday that the wages for December -believed to be £1.8million - would be paid yesterday but have told theProfessional Footballers' Association (PFA) a further delay has nowarisen.   [LNB]PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said the club were hopeful of paying the players today.   [LNB]Taylor told Press Association Sport: 'We were expecting the playersto be paid but that has not happened. We have been told by the clubthat they are hopeful of paying them on Wednesday.'[LNB]The club told the PFA the latest delay was due to paperwork needingto be completed after a short-term loan was negotiated to cover theshortfall.It is the third time this season the club have missed a payment date.  [LNB] Portsmouth protest: Fans gathered outside Fratton Park following Pompey's FA Cup draw with Coventry on Saturday[LNB]In a further blow for the club, the Premier League have toldPortsmouth they will not be able to re-register Jamie O'Hara as a loansigning unless the transfer embargo is lifted, and there is virtuallyno chance of that happening during this transfer window.   [LNB]The Tottenham midfielder's deal runs out on January 15 but Spurs had indicated they were happy to let him stay at Pompey.   [LNB]A Premier League spokesman said: 'If the registration embargo isstill in place Portsmouth will not be able to re-register him.' [LNB] Players union wants Portsmouth and Crystal Palace talks over unpaid wagesPompey crisis deepens as strugglers fail to pay players' wages once againSorry, no refunds: Lens won't take players back from PortsmouthPORTSMOUTH FC NEWS ACROSS THE WEB [LNB] [LNB]  

Source: Daily_Mail