adminLeicester City’s owners King Power have put the club on the market after 16 years at the helm.
But the Thai group must look to Dejphon Chansiri’s experience at Sheffield Wednesday last year if they are to avoid making similar mistakes.
The Foxes secured the Premier League and FA Cup under the current ownership, meaning they will always retain a degree of goodwill from supporters that Chansiri simply never enjoyed at Hillsborough.
However, their poor management of the squad both on and off the pitch has left them in a challenging financial and competitive position, with Russell Martin now overseeing the team in League One.
Dejphon Chansiri’s unrealistic Sheffield Wednesday demands
Chansiri was an extremely unpopular figure as Sheffield Wednesday owner, and he eventually took the club into administration almost 12 months ago.
But in the months before that, Chansiri had attracted interest from several parties looking to purchase the Owls, as problems behind the scenes continued to grow.
However, an asking price of £100 million became a major obstacle to completing a takeover.
The likes of Mike Ashley, John Textor and David Richards were all interested in potentially acquiring the club, but none were prepared to consider a deal at that valuation.
Dejphon Chansiri lost out massively at Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday eventually entered administration by October 2025, which significantly reduced how much Chansiri could receive from a sale.
The former Owls owner was still expected to receive around £15 million because he was owed a total of £60 million as part of the club’s debt.
For the Yorkshire club to exit administration, administrators Begbies Traynor were brought in to find a buyer capable of paying all of the team’s creditors 25p on the pound.
But Chansiri eventually left the club with nothing after he failed to respond to an offer that would have allowed him to receive that money on the basis of Sheffield Wednesday’s promotion to the Championship.
Leicester City owners must avoid £200m mistake
It has been reported that King Power have placed an asking price of £200 million on the club after putting it up for sale earlier this year.
But it is difficult to see any interested party coming forward and meeting that valuation with the club now competing in League One.
The Foxes’ debt is also a concern and will be another issue that could deter potential buyers at this price point.
And while there is no immediate threat of administration, the owners must behave sensibly now to avoid that possibility in the future, as they could end up with nothing just like Chansiri.
Leicester City are an attractive asset at the right price
Leicester are former Premier League champions and were playing in European competition as recently as just four years ago.
This is a club with huge potential, and there should be several potential buyers interested in taking over, provided the cost of the deal remains realistic.
Operating a football club is an expensive undertaking, and Leicester’s relegation to the third tier means significant investment is now required to return the team to the highest level of English football.
As long as they remain in League One, a £200 million asking price is difficult to justify, and King Power need to acknowledge that to avoid losing out heavily in the worst-case scenario.
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