Freddy Shepherd

British businessman to travel to Palma with ultimatum over Real Mallorca

Monday will see the arrival of former Newcastle owner Freddy Shepherd in Palma to present an ultimatum to the managers of Real Mallorca. Shepherd is launching the offensive to buy control of the club as it struggles to stay afloat and keep the administrator at bay.

The British businessman will likely go straight to court on his arrival, reports the Diario de Mallorca citing anonymous sources, and present his bid to the administrator. It is thought that his offer will not exceed one million euros, a sum that is considered derisory by current majority shareholder Vicenç Grande.

But Shepherd knows that if the offer is rejected by Grande the club will likely go bust, with administrators then legally obliged to secure liquidity, thus playing directly into the businessman´s hands. If this were to happen the legal proceeding would take up to three months and would mean the activities of the club would be placed in limbo. This is time the club can ill afford in its current state of ill health.

Shepherd believes a majority shareholder stake is not even worth a million euros as the club has amassed some 50 million euros of debts. Grande is expected to do everything he can to maintain control of the club and prevent Shepherd from winning ownership.