Why West Ham may now be worth £100m less than when Kretinsky arrived | OneFootball

The drop into the Championship has cost West Ham's owners significantly

West Ham’s relegation from the Premier League last season led to a summer of tumult behind the scenes.

The Hammers finished 18th in the top flight, ending a 14-year stint in the division, and will have their sights on earning promotion at the very first attempt.

It was a busy summer of transfer activity, even with uncertainty surrounding the ownership situation at the London Stadium.

The Championship side even broke the record for the biggest fee paid to sign a player at this level, bringing in Arne Engels from Celtic.

West Ham’s £700 million valuation

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c Daniel Kretinsky shook up the West Ham ownership structure in 2021 with an initial investment into the club.

It was reported at the time that the Czech businessman agreed an ownership stake for a figure somewhere between £180 and 200 million.

It gave the Hammers a total valuation of around £700 million just a few months after the team had earned a sixth place finish in the Premier League under David Moyes.

Kretinsky also made an £18 million payment to David Sullivan, which offered him the right to buy all 1,022 shares owned by the Englishman.

However, he ultimately chose not to take up that option, and the ramifications of that decision are now being felt behind the scenes.

West Ham’s drop in value

Amanda Staveley has emerged as someone with an interest in becoming involved with the West Ham ownership.

It was reported earlier this year that the 53-year-old agreed a £150 million deal with the family of David Gold to buy around 25.1 per cent of the Championship club.

However, this leaves the Hammers with a new valuation of around £600 million, which is a big drop to suffer in just five years.

At a time when the valuation of sports teams is increasing across the globe, this drop shows the consequence of mismanagement and a decline into the second tier of English football.

West Ham’s sharp decline

The arrival of Kretinsky came at a time when West Ham were on the rise under Moyes, earning qualification for the Europa League.

The London outfit went on to win the UEFA Conference League in 2023, which was the best moment in the club’s modern history.

But, just three years later, their theoretical valuation has declined by a significant £100 million.

There is a power struggle ongoing behind the scenes, controversy surrounds the ownership and the team is competing in the Championship for the first time in 14 years.

Not even the significant sums earned from Premier League broadcast income over the last five years have kept the club’s valuation intact with one year of second tier football.

Nuno Espirito Santo has to turn West Ham around

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It’s been a mixed start to life in the Championship for West Ham, who have underwhelmed with dropped points against Burnley, Charlton Athletic and Watford.

The Irons came into the campaign as one of the favourites for automatic promotion, but their performances so far suggest they need to improve in order to live up to that expectation.

It was a tricky transfer window, with multiple key players like Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville departing.

While they were able to hold onto Jarrod Bowen, it’s clear that the squad is weaker now than it was 12 months ago.