West Ham United begin their first Championship campaign in 14 years with renewed optimism on the pitch, but an increasingly tangled ownership dispute continues to cast a shadow over the club as they prepare to open their season away at fellow relegated side Burnley.
On the football side, there is genuine reason for encouragement. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has committed his long-term future to the club, as has captain Jarrod Bowen, while new signings Manor Solomon and Joel Veltman bring added experience to the squad. The club has lost Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham and Crysencio Summerville, who joined Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, but fans have responded positively to the rebuild, with 50,000 season tickets sold despite relegation. A 3-1 EFL Cup victory over Portsmouth drew a first-round record crowd of 53,369.
Off the pitch, however, the picture is far murkier. Two months ago, David Sullivan stepped down as co-chair after seven women accused him of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, allegations he strongly denies, following a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and The Times. Despite resigning, Sullivan remains West Ham's largest shareholder with a 38.8% stake and attended the Portsmouth match against the advice of stadium officials and fan groups.
Following Sullivan's departure, fellow co-chairs Vanessa Gold and Daniel Kretinsky issued a joint statement expressing concern over the allegations. "We were deeply concerned by the revelations, and our thoughts go out to those women who have fought so hard to make their voices heard," the statement read. "Any abuse of power is abhorrent, and it takes great courage and determination to speak up against it. Our focus is now firmly on protecting the future of this football club."
At the time, it appeared Gold and Kretinsky had reached a straightforward agreement under which Kretinsky, who also owns Royal Mail and currently holds 27% of West Ham, would buy Gold's 25.1% stake and become the club's dominant shareholder with 43%. Other significant shareholders, including Tripp Smith, Daniel Harris and Terry Brown, were reportedly supportive of the plan.
That deal, though, collapsed. On 1 August, Gold confirmed that "the original deal and other alternatives could not be brought to fruition," revealing instead that she had agreed to sell her entire shareholding to a consortium led by former Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley. Kretinsky reacted with dismay and said he was "considering his options." Three days later, it emerged he had sold just over 2% of his shares to fellow Czech businessman Jakub Havrlant.
The move has raised fresh legal and structural questions. West Ham's shareholder agreements include pre-emption rights requiring any major shareholder selling stock to first offer it to existing shareholders on a pro-rata basis over a 30-day window. In theory, this could allow Sullivan to acquire around 13% of Gold's shares, pushing him past a 50% stake, with Kretinsky able to add roughly 9%. Any such move would likely draw scrutiny from the Independent Regulator, a body Sullivan and former vice-chair Karren Brady had opposed. Sources close to Kretinsky reportedly believe the regulator would block Sullivan from increasing his holding given the allegations against him, though that theory remains untested.
Another complication lies in a club rule requiring anyone who takes their stake above 50% to make an inflated offer for the remaining shares—a threshold Kretinsky's arrangement with Havrlant appears designed to avoid, since it would keep his holding below the 50% mark even after absorbing Gold's shares. However, this sale is itself subject to the same pre-emption rights, and there is debate over whether it could be viewed as circumventing contractual obligations. There have also been unconfirmed suggestions that Staveley's consortium has made a separate approach for Sullivan's stake.
Brady stepped down as vice-chair on 21 April to focus on other business interests, and none of the parties involved—Sullivan, Gold, Kretinsky or Staveley—have publicly detailed their broader intentions, leaving supporters uncertain about how the situation will unfold.
"We had a real opportunity this summer to draw a line under what's been a pretty miserable period, get everyone pulling in the same direction and have a proper go at the season," one long-standing supporter with detailed knowledge of the club said. "Instead, we've got another West Ham soap opera playing out in the boardroom. It's like Eastenders."
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.