Sunderland owner Stewart Donald has stepped down from his role as chairman as he continues to look for a new buyer.
With the 2019/2020 season done and dusted for Sunderland, the Wearsiders are expected to undergo some drastic changes this summer after failing to gain promotion for a second successive season from League One to the Championship.
Donald, who took over from Ellis Short in April 2018 has been heavily criticised in his role as club owner, revealed that he wanted to sell after just 19 months in charge.
The former Eastleigh FC owner, who had a net worth of £8.4m in 2018, has been actively trying to sell the club since with the likes of Chinese businessman Sammy Yu and Mark Campbell said to be interested.
With the pressure starting to mount, it has now been confirmed that Donald has stepped down from his role as club chairman. Interestingly though, he made the assurance to fans that the club would still have the biggest budget in League One for the 20/21 campaign.
“The buck for starting a third successive season in League One stops with me,” he said in a statement.
“To give the club the best chance of achieving its goals, I have made the judgement that it is right for me to step back from the chairmanship.
“As the majority stakeholder, my remaining responsibility is to ensure that the club has the requisite financial backing to achieve its primary objective of promotion, and I can assure supporters that the club will continue to have the highest playing budget in this division.
“Otherwise, my intention remains to sell SAFC to a suitable new owner, and I remain personally committed to that goal.”
The decision comes less than a week after Donald revealed his asking price to sell the Black Cats, set at £37.6million.
The news Sunderland fans will love to hear, but it does leave the club now without a man in charge and with little developments being made public in terms of a new owner.
The Wearside club now need to follow up Donald’s decision with a fast club sale before they can address on the pitch matters.
Do you think Donald can now sell the club? Let us know in the comments section below…
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