West Brom: £120m twist emerges at The Hawthorns in Guochuan Lai news
Dan Plumley has insisted that Guochuan Lai has made a smart business play to include potential bonuses in the takeover deal with Shilen Patel.
Chris Lepkowski has shared that Lai could still earn £50million from the takeover, with a £10million bonus entitled for every year the Baggies spend in the Premier League if promoted, up to five years.
The football finance expert admitted that promotion to the Premier League is worth a minimum of £100-120million each year to any club, with the Albion pushing for that status again under Carlos Corberan.
“It’s smart,” he exclusively told West Brom News.
“These people are businessmen, and when you strip out all of the emotion from it, they are looking at the financial decisions and obviously, he has invested a huge amount of money in the club, and it did not work out the way he perhaps hoped but we’ve seen him act like a businessman and that’s part of the reason why some of the fans have been upset at what he has done.
“I’m not surprised to see, if that is true, a clause like that in there.
“It is a smart play because if you look at the money West Brom could earn from promotion, and we know the TV domestically has rolled through and you have the international rights to follow so we’re still in that ballpark of promotion being worth £100million to £120million minimum and a £10million payout of that per year is relatively small in the grand scheme of things.
“Of course, that’s money that could be spent elsewhere in the club but if that is part of the deal and that’s been agreed, then the outgoing owner stands to gain a little bit in the future as well. When you look at the situation on the pitch, there is every chance that could happen and West Brom will have their sights set back on the Premier League in the future.
“It is no surprise if that is a clause that is in there and it’s a smart business play from the outgoing owner to squeeze a little bit more out of the takeover.”
Guochuan Lai continues to haunt West Brom at The Hawthorns
Lai may be set to finally leave The Hawthorns, but it looks as though his shadow will continue to hang over the club for the next five years, at least.
Although Patel is only due to pay Lai £5million in 2024, he will be wary of the other clauses included as this takeover finally gets ready for full completion.
In other West Brom news, Adrian Chiles has made a bizarre claim regarding an Albion player and Taylor Swift.
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