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The owner of Edinburgh "Hearts" from Lithuania, Vladimir Romanov, admitted that he has lost almost all of his wealth.
A few weeks ago, when the Bank of Lithuania suspended the activities of Ukio Bankas and transferred management to a temporary administrator, a threat arose to the entire businessman's empire, of which a part is the Scottish Premier League team "Hearts". However, it is formally controlled by the Ukio Bank Investment Group.
"All of our savings, all the assets of our companies, all the assets were in that bank," Romanov told the BBC. "We lost everything."
In the near future, he hopes to sell a controlling stake in "Hearts" to fans: "We plan for the fans to control 51% of the shares. Maybe it won't happen suddenly, but we will seek to realize this idea. The price? That's not important, it will be determined by the club, which used to operate at a loss but now earns a little profit, management."
During his eight years of managing "Hearts", Romanov claimed to have invested over 70 million euros. And he does not regret it: "Football in Scotland is extremely important, the only ones who can compete with it are maybe Argentina or Brazil. I hope that the fans will remember that firmly believing is possible to achieve any heights."
