Western Mail

Swans pour cold water on claims of a takeover

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SWANSEA City have dismissed a Brazilian businessma­n’s claims he is close to completing a takeover of the club.

Reports emerged in the South American press that Leandro Rodrigues was pursuing a takeover of Swansea.

But Swansea sources have told WalesOnlin­e that this is not the case. Rodrigues was quoted in Brazilian media as saying he will have more informatio­n “in the next two weeks” about purchasing the Swansea.com Stadium club.

Switzerlan­d-based Rodrigues is an entreprene­ur, and is also reportedly looking to purchase Brazilian third tier side Clube de Remo.

“In the next two weeks, we will be able to provide the entire Brazilian press with informatio­n about the acquisitio­n of Swansea, an issue that will make many people change their minds,” he is quoted as saying in Oliberal.com.

The report adds that Rodrigues hopes to close the purchase of the club in the next 15 days. But these claims are believed to be extremely wide of the mark with cold water poured over them by Swansea sources.

Current majority owners, Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien, are believed to be still committed to getting Swansea back into the Premier League following their relegation in 2018. Their man on the ground, so to speak, director Jake Silverstei­n, who spent time in south Wales around the turn of the year, said earlier this month: “We want to achieve promotion back to the Premier League, and our route to get back there will require a bit of patience as this plan matures and comes to fruition.

“We showed several times this season that we can be exceptiona­l; at our best, we were dominant on the pitch. And, while there were frustratin­g moments this year, we are happy with the trajectory we are on. We believe our culture will bring out the very best in our players and be a key difference maker for our squad throughout what should be a very exciting 2022-2023 season for the club.”

Swansea’s finances, with player sales needed every summer to balance the books, have been hit by the pandemic and the fact the club is no longer in receipt of topflight parachute payments.

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