Charlton’s season ended with Chesterfield's Alfie May scoring an 88th minute equaliser to grab a 2-2 draw on Monday (May 8), meaning Charlton had to settle for a 10th place finish.
But the issues for Charlton are far worse off the pitch than they are on it.
It was reported earlier this month that the consortium led by former Sunderland owner Charlie Methven had their bid for Charlton rejected for a second time, after their original talks broke down in February.
After Thomas Sandgaard rejected the group's bid of £10.5 million at the end of April, it looked as if the drama surrounding Charlton’s ownership was going to continue for a while longer.
But, according to The Athletic, there are other interested parties in Charlton Athletic, that feature ‘two candidates with considerable experience in club ownership’.
One of the candidates is said to be Robert Platek, who is the current owner of Italian club Spezia, which he acquired earlier on in the year.
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The other candidate is Roman Gevorkyan, who owns some of the smaller clubs across France, Italy, Armenia and Hungary.
After Methvin’s bid broke down, it looked as if Marc Spiegel was going to take over from Thomas Sandgaard, but another breakdown has meant the issue is still unresolved.
With Charlton’s season officially over, the club desperately need to resolve the ownership situation.
Charlton have a big summer transfer window ahead of them, in which they’ll be desperate to keep some of their top young talent, while also replacing the 15 goals that Crystal Palace loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi scored during his time with the Addicks.
So who are these new candidates to take over Charlton?
Robert Platek
As mentioned before, Robert Platek is the owner of Spezia, who as it currently stands, are in the Serie A relegation zone, three points adrift of 17th place.
According to ChronicleLive, Platek originally planned to takeover at Sunderland in 2019, but two years later, the American took over Spezia instead.
According to The Athletic, Platek is a partner of a private equity firm, whiuch has been increasingly more involved in football, lending money to Sunderland, Burnley, Derby and Southampton in the past.
Platek’s brother, Philip, bought Danish side Sonderjysk Elitesport in 2020, and they have since been relegated from the Norwegian Superliga, after finishing rock bottom in the league, tallying 13 points in 22 games.
Roman Gervokyan
According to footballleagueworld, Gevorkyan is in charge of Noah Football Group, which owns a variety of smaller clubs across Europe, including Paris FC, in the French second division and Siena in Italy’s Serie C.
Gevorkyan has spoken out about bringing forward a policy to promote youth players into the squad with his time at Paris FC, and that is a strategy that Charlton could be successful with.
Over the years Charlton have developed some of the top players in Europe.
Ademola Lookman, Nick Pope and Joe Aribo have all played at Charlton during their youth.
But for Charlton fans, their priority will be just for Sandgaard to sell the club, so that they can prepare for the summer transfer window.
Because while Sandgaard is still there, and the club doesn't have a clear vision and it could be difficult for the club to complete any positive transfer business.
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