West Ham United's protracted ownership saga finally produced statements from the two central figures on Thursday, with Daniel Křetínský and Vanessa Gold both speaking publicly for the first time since the club's shareholders agreed to make the Czech billionaire the largest shareholder at the London Stadium.
Křetínský struck a measured, almost cautious tone in his remarks, framing the outcome as a responsibility rather than a triumph. "I am deeply honoured to have the opportunity to become the largest shareholder of this great club," he said, adding that he "does not take lightly" the weight of what comes next. He also used the statement to thank the club's other shareholders directly for what he described as their constructive role in reaching the agreement, calling it a source of "certainty" for the club at a critical moment, and promised fuller communication with supporters once the transactions are formally completed.
Vanessa Gold's statement revealed a bit more about the process. She framed the agreement as delivering the stability the club needs, noting that Křetínský becoming the largest shareholder would give him "a more active role in the decision-making at the club" going forward. She traced the deal back to its origins, pointing out that the broad shape of this arrangement was first outlined back in June. It was a nod to the original Křetínský agreement that was later complicated by Amanda Staveley's rival approach.
Notably, Gold went out of her way to thank Staveley and her partners by name for their engagement in the process and the passion they showed for the club throughout. Gold confirmed she will remain a shareholder at West Ham, just at a significantly smaller scale than the 25.1% her family previously held. "I will remain a small shareholder," she said, "but more importantly, I will forever be a passionate Hammers fan." She closed by reflecting on her time as joint chair as an extension of her father David Gold's legacy at the club, wishing Křetínský and the new leadership well.
"My ambition through this process has been to ensure the club had the right leadership and to enable West Ham to achieve its potential and return to its rightful place in the Premier League."Vanessa Gold
“My ambition through this process has been to ensure the club had the right leadership and to enable West Ham to achieve its potential and return to its rightful place in the Premier League, Gold said. “This agreement, which was first outlined back in June, provides that stability, allowing the club and its management to continue to focus on the football season.”
The statements confirm the shareholding split reported by the Times and Bloomberg over the past 48 hours: Křetínský rising to 46%, David Sullivan settling at 40%, and Tripp Smith increasing to 11%, with the remaining shareholders, including Gold's reduced stake, making up the final few percent between them.
But the deal isn't done yet. Gold has now issued a formal completion notice to Křetínský, Sullivan and the other participating shareholders, which means the real work starts now: roughly £141m in total is reportedly due to be paid across the group to finalize their new allocations, with a deadline of next Friday, September 11. Until that payment is made in full, the ownership restructuring remains provisional rather than finalized. This is presumably why both Křetínský and Gold were careful in their statements to describe the moment as an agreement reached rather than a transaction complete, with Křetínský explicitly promising more communication once that final step is done.
For a club that's spent the summer being talked about more for its boardroom than its promotion push, Thursday's statements at least offer something resembling clarity even if the final signatures, and the final wire transfers, are still a week away
Add us as a preferred source on Google