Sheffield United owners COH Sports sued amid £100m dispute | OneFootball

Blades' co-owners Steve Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy have just entered a legal battle

Sheffield United's owners Steve Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy are now at the centre of a league battle, having bought the South Yorkshire outfit back in December 2024.

Blades missed out on promotion during their first season at the club, finishing third and losing in the play-off final to Sunderland. This year, they look extremely unlikely to finish in anything other than mid-table.

It's not all negative news, however, as Steve Rosen rehired Chris Wilder this season. That followed a disastrous start to the campaign under Ruben Selles, with things much more positive since Wilder's return to his boyhood club for a third stint in charge.

Away from the pitch, things have not been as positive. In fact, back in November, it was stated that COH Sports could be looking to sell Sheffield United already. Now, they are are being sued in Delaware by a businessman who says he orchestrated the £100 million takeover of the club back in 2024.

Steve Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy enter legal battle at Sheffield United

The Telegraph have relayed the story. It's reported that the storyline is "fitting of a big-budget television drama" and that there is a key member having been cut out of the final deal to buy the club for £100 million.

The story centres around power struggles, director resignations and Tom Page. He is the English-born investor and entrepreneur who is frustrated at not being included in the takeover. Now based in California, Page claims he set up the takeover before being cut out.

It means Rosen and Eltoukhy are being sued for "fraud" over their initial deal to buy the club. It's revealed that there are papers which have been filed at Delaware Chancery Court, which show details of how the football club was bought.

So far, it's reported that COH Sports say the claim is "entirely without merit" and that they are hoping to have the case dismissed. It's claimed Page had been looking at English football clubs since 2021 as an investment opportunity.

His focus was on smaller clubs who were struggling financially. After meeting Rosen shortly after, the papers claim Page introduced him to Eltoukhy, a scientist and healthcare businessman, back in 2023. Not long after, Sheffield United became their target.

That's because they had an "untapped women’s team" with potential and also a hotel next to Bramall Lane, which was not active at the time. Page was the one who contacted Rosen and Eltoukhy about the opportunity. It's claimed there was a fallout between Page and Rosen towards the start of the 2024/25 season.

At that stage, the takeover was not yet completed. "Rosen expressed his disapproval of Page and his direct manner of negotiating," according to the papers. Then, during a call on September 21, "Rosen yelled and condescended to Page, claiming Page needed to go on an apology tour to address various imagined infractions".

The nature of that exchange is decribed as heated and it "ended without resolution". The papers also record an email from Page to Rosen, stating: "This football thing is that hard and you’ve disrespected the work I have put in [in] a massive way.

"You can choose to leave this project if you want or you can choose to talk to the others about me and apologize [sic] to me and trust me that I can get us over the line here and we forget about all this."

The problem since then is that the company which eventually bought Sheffield United from Prince Abdullah was changed in name. Page said “COH Sports” was set up to buy the club. However, in October 2024, Rosen and Eltoukhy formed “COH Sports United LLC” without Page on the board.

The legal claim since stated the purpose of the change of name was "so that when it came time to sign contracts, the formation of this different entity would not be noticed by the Prince or the EFL or others reading media reports about the takeover group".

It's also claimed that Rosen and Eltoukhy continued to "participate in emails and discussions with Page and others as if the acquisition by COH Sports were going forward".

It means that the specific violation in the deal is over Eltoukhy breaking a non-disclosure agreement and also a "non-circumvent" agreement.

Sheffield United owners Steve Rosen and Helmy Eltoukh's plan in the Tom Page case

The Telegraph claim Page has not commented on the case, but that a COH Sports Spokesperson said: "We are aware of a complaint filed in the USA by a disgruntled former associate who had once hoped to be part of COH Sports. His claims are entirely without merit and willingly misrepresent the facts."

That spokesperson has since added that their intention is to dismiss the case rather than to settle or take it further in the courts, stating: "We will seek prompt dismissal of the case. COH Sports remains fully focused on supporting Sheffield United and has a long-term plan to bring sustainable success to the club.

"Given the weakness of the claims, we do not intend to comment further."

It's unclear how drawn out the process will be from here for Rosen and Eltoukhy alongside their legal representatives, but the matter is ongoing and without resolution currently.