Portsmouth FC have emphatically denied reports on supporter websites that they could be the first Premiership club to go into administration. However, the financial crisis at the club is so serious that they could be forced to sell at least two players in the January transfer window. New owner Ali Al-Faraj is urgently seeking to refinance the club’s £60m debts which include around £16m due to football creditors and former owner Sacha Gaydamak by the end of January. The Premier League may divert the Sky television money due to them to pay off football creditors.
Portsmouth FC have emphatically denied reports on supporter websites that they could be the first Premiership club to go into administration. However, the financial crisis at the club is so serious that they could be forced to sell at least two players in the January transfer window. New owner Ali Al-Faraj is urgently seeking to refinance the club’s £60m debts which include around £16m due to football creditors and former owner Sacha Gaydamak by the end of January. The Premier League may divert the Sky television money due to them to pay off football creditors. Faraj’s advisers have requested a meeting with Gaydamak’s representatives to discuss the repayment schedule for £33m of debts owed to the former owner, £8m of which are due next month. The club has ended a long-standing relationship with Barclays which has become strained by recent events. They are understood to have paid off a loan secured against Fratton Park, enabling them to offer the stadium as a guarantee to new investors. Faraj borrowed up to £20m from Hong King-based businessman Balram Chainrai to pay the players and settle tax debts. He is now seeking to refinance and may offer an equity stake to new investors, but the club insist that Chainrai will not become a shareholder in the club.