West Ham have are the fifth biggest spenders in the Premier League in the last two years and it coincides with the arrival of Daniel Kretinsky.
When it comes to football club ownership Daniel Kretinsky is a bit of a throwback at West Ham.
Many club owners – rightly or wrongly – are keen to converse regularly with fans and the media nowadays.
But that used to be a rarity with top brass – like Terry Brown at West Ham – staying in the shadows.
Kretinsky, who bought 27 per cent in November 2021, is very much of that ilk.
When Kretinsky bought his share in West Ham nearly three years ago, it boosted club coffers by £150m.
It is no coincidence – together with the £105m sale of Declan Rice – that West Ham have been the fifth biggest spenders in the Premier League since then.
Many fans expected – and hoped – the Czech Sphinx becoming the club’s second biggest stakeholder behind David Sullivan was a pre-cursor to an eventual full takeover.
The billionaire is, by some distance, the richest man at West Ham. And he is among the richest owners in the Premier League too in terms of net worth.
In fact Kretinsky jumped a massive 14 places on the this year’s Sunday Times Rich List as his wealth continues to grow.
Kretinsky goes next level and it bodes well for West Ham
The Sparta Prague owner went from 47th to 33rd with a net worth of £6bn. That was up £2bn on last year. What’s happened since is simply mind-blowing.
The main source of income for West Ham’s money man is energy, telecoms, media and football. He has just recently taken over Royal Mail and part owns J Sainsbury too.
Kretinsky has been described as ‘secretive’ in the past. And it’s easy to see why because West Ham fans rarely hear from, or too much about, him from a football perspective.
It was reported earlier this year that Kretinsky was unhappy with how some elements of West Ham were being run.
And it was claimed Kretinsky wanted a bigger influence as a result.
The last time West Ham fans heard from Kretinsky he made an exciting claim in a rare TV interview.
The Czech billionaire said his heart is fully with West Ham.
So much so he wants to increase his stake in the club if the opportunity arises.
Czech Sphinx made it clear his heart is with Hammers
“My heart is with West Ham and any other club would never interest me,” Kretinsky said back in June.
“We are happy with our shareholding I have to say. I can also say that it is not part of our thinking that we would become a sole controlling shareholder of West Ham.
“But if there is an opportunity to somehow increase our stake without becoming majority (owners) we would be very open to that and I would be proud to be able to even tighten the link with the club.
“But at the same time I have to say that the co-operation and other things amongst the shareholders is very good and I feel very comfortable in the role in which we are and very grateful for this role.”
Kretinsky’s comments were welcomed by Hammers fans.
Increasing his stake to a level that doesn’t breach UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership would be tricky given he owns Sparta Prague.
But it could boost club coffers by another £120m or more if Kretinsky does push to increase his stake without becoming a majority shareholder
Well now Kretinsky’s standing has gone to the next level and it very bodes well for West Ham indeed.
Kretinsky now Czech’s richest man as worth more than doubles
Because Kretinsky’s net worth has more than doubled – officially making him the richest man in the Czech Republic and one of the wealthiest in all of Europe.
The Hammers co-owner has secured top spot in this year’s Euro business magazine ranking of the richest Czechs, with a net worth of CZK 390 billion – that’s nearly £13 billion.
Kretinsky has dethroned the previous richest Czech, Renata Kellnerova of the PPF Group who is worth approximately CZK 350bn (£11.5bn) after she inherited her late husband Petr’s business.
The West Ham man owns the EPH conglomerate and the energy-focused EP Corporate Group. It is reported Kretinsky has become richer by almost CZK 173 billion (£5.75bn) in the last 12 months alone.
Earlier this year, the billionaire bought a 20 per cent stake in the steel division of the large ThyssenKrupp joint-stock company and plans to utilise the power plants he controls in eastern Germany as part of the deal. Last year, EPH also purchased two of the Netherlands’ largest power plants.
Kretinsky made international headlines in June after a successful bid to buy Royal Mail for £3.6 billion.
With at least 10 per cent of the Gold family stake still up for sale after Vanessa Gold put it on the market last October, perhaps a bigger chunk of West Ham could be Kretinsky’s next purchase?
West Ham fans will certainly be hoping that might be the case after his TV interview stating his ambition to do just that earlier this year
