SPL Heart Of Midlothian Owner Romanov Loses Assets, Ready To Sell Club 'At Any Price'

Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian Owner Vladimir Romanov claimed that he had invested £60M ($90.7M) into the club, but is "now ready to sell up 'at any price' and will hand control of the Edinburgh club to their supporters," according to Phil Gordon of the LONDON TIMES. Romanov, who has been the majority shareholder at Tynecastle since '04, has "had his fortune wiped out by the collapse of Ukio Bankas in Lithuania." Romanov, who also holds Lithuanian citizenship, said that "he has lost everything with the plunge into administration of Ukio Bankas" with debts of £380M ($574M). About £25M ( $37.8M) of that belongs to Hearts, who has been "flirting with administration since Romanov withdrew financial support last year" (LONDON TIMES, 4/3). Romanov said, "We have a plan to sell 51% of the club to the fans. Maybe it won't happen straight away, but we would like to realize it" (BBC, 4/2).