Exclusive: Former Sunderland director Charlie Methven comments on Charlton Athletic takeover link
Former Sunderland director Charlie Methven has spoken to the South London Press about being linked with a takeover of Charlton Athletic.
Methven has been at a number of Addicks matches this season. The 46-year-old former Etonian was a part owner of Sunderland – acquiring a six per cent stake when American billionaire Ellis Short sold the club in May 2018.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus became the majority shareholder at Sunderland in June with Methven no longer having shares in the Championship outfit.
Methven has set up SE7 Partners Limited with Edward Warrick, who was appointed finance director at Charlton Athletic yesterday.
Addicks owner Thomas Sandgaard also appointed Dean Holden as manager, Andy Scott as technical director and Jim Rodwell as chief operating officer.
Methven has told our paper that SE7 Partners Ltd would be the vehicle if he and Warrick did decide to invest in the future if they felt it was a viable proposition.
A national newspaper has claimed that Methven is backed by an consortium of Americans and Qataris but he has dismissed the latter, along with the claim that he is involved with Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, who is set to become the Conservative Party’s treasurer.
Mansour did an interview with the Telegraph saying he is looking to buy an English club.
“I have seen the speculation linking me with Mohamed Mansour and becoming chief exec of Charlton,” Methven, pictured above left, told the South London Press. “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. 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. 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.
“Ed Warrick and I were both consultants at Spurs together a few years back. 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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So they have gone to the expense of setting a new limited company just on the off chance that they may at some stage wish to invest (or see Charlton as a means of making money).
They should have announced this on 1 April 2023 but perhaps it could not wait until then.