Southampton owner Gao Jisheng puts club up for sale for £250m | OneFootball

Just three years after taking over Southampton, owner Gao Jisheng has put his majority stake in the club up for sale and is currently seeking buyers.

According to several media reports, the Chinese businessman has put a £250m price tag on the Saints and invited a broker to find a new owner.

Jisheng bought an 80 per cent stake back in 2017 for £210m, taking over for previous owner Katharina Liebherr – the daughter of previous owner Markus, who bought the club in 2009 and took the club out of administration.

It’s believed that Liebherr will not be selling her remaining 20 per cent stake in the club.

Southampton were rumoured to be for sale less than a year ago after Jisheng was forced to sell off 30 per cent of his stake in Lander Sports Development to the Chinese government for £148.5m but nothing materialised.

Under Gao Jisheng’s reign, the Saints have been involved in some pretty tumultuous times, going through two chief executives and three managers (Mauricio Pellegrino, Mark Hughes, Ralph Hasenhüttl), finishing in 17th and 16th place.