ASTON VILLA co-owner Nassef Sawiris’s personal wealth has plunged by an eye-watering £481million in the past year, according to Forbes’ latest figures.
Just three days after Aston Villa’s players agreed to defer per cent of their wages for the next four months, figures published showed their co-owner Sawiris has suffered a colossal drop in his net-worth.
The Coronavirus pandemic has seen global equity markets implode with catastrophic results for the bank balances of the super-rich.
Sawiris’s family fortune has been built on the success of Orascom Construction Industries, a multi-faceted conglomerate which has interests in telecommunications, construction and tourism.
With the travel industry, in particular, badly hit during the worldwide crisis, Sawiris has taken a hit as financial markets have tumbled.
However, before shedding a tear for the Egyptian billionaire, it’s safe to say he should get by without stressing about where his next crust is coming from.
Despite Villa’s cutbacks, Sawiris should scrape by on the £4.66billion fortune he still has safely tucked away in vaults around the world.
Sawiris and his co-investor Wes Edens each bought a controlling 27.5 per cent stake in Villa from Doctor Tony Xia, to save the club from administration in the summer of 2018.
Sawiris was appointed executive chairman and the pair pumped a further £11million in a much-needed cash injection which allowed Villa to keep star player Jack Grealish from signing for Tottenham Hotspur in a cut-price deal.
Sawiris and Edens bankrolled Villa’s ambitious spending plans when they returned to the Premier League last summer, with 12 players arriving at a cost of around £140m.
But the current situation has seen a significant drop in Sawiris’s net-worth which peaked at £6.35billion, shortly after Villa’s return to the top flight – but now stands at £4.66billion.
That still makes the Egyptian the richest businessman in the history of Birmingham!
But with football still in lockdown for now, with no definite blueprint for its safe return, it remains to be seen how Villa will be affected long-term by Sawiris’s losses.
Pepe Reina confirmed he will not return to Villa once his loan spell from AC Milan expires at the end of the season.
The former Liverpool No 1 was signed in the January window as a replacement for the injured Tom Heaton but has failed to keep a clean sheet in his six Premier League appearances.
Now, the 37-year-old could look to move into coaching once he returns to Italy.
He confirmed: “After the loan spell with Aston Villa, I have to go back.
“I have 1-2 years left in my career and I think my time in football will end after next year in Milan. You never know in the future, but as a player I won’t have a chance. As a coach, who knows?”
