Transcript of Assem Allam's interview: All that the owner of Hull City said about the takeover, fan protests and more

The President of the City of Hull, Assem Allam, gave an in-depth interview in which he discusses many topics with BBC Radio HumbersideThat's David Burns.

Allam discusses the latest information on buyouts, fan shows, unsuccessful offers and potential new buyers.

Here is the complete transcript of what was said during the interview with the tigers owner.

David Burns: Do you still feel that duty to the club?

Assem Allam: When I decided to buy the club, it was to protect him from any liquidation. The London High Court handed down a liquidation order and we would have been relegated to Ligue 1, Ligue 2, etc. I'm not a footballer but I thought I had to do something if I could protect the club for the community. Nothing will distract me from that. We had a potential interest, we agreed on a price, and I said how much will you put in the club? They said "that's all". I said sorry, no, I need the future of the club because I am a local man. I do not want, after all these years, with all that I have done, that the club can not survive. I would have been able to sell it and get my money, but I refused, we refused it.

DB: Was it agreement that you hoped to conclude before Christmas with a consortium led by Paul Duffen?

AA: No, it was another, not this one.

DB: Who were they, Assem?

AA: It's confidential as you know.

DB: Where are you now with the sale of the club? Is it still for sale?

AA: Paul Duffen knows it does not work. The money is not there.

DB: So where are you and the football club?

AA: I already said, if we did not sell the club before the window, we would wait until the summer because we will have to spend money during the period. I do not want to risk a transition period, the buyer, do nothing in this window. When you spend during the window, the price changes.

DB: Is the club still on sale?

AA: Yes, of course, it's for sale. Fans say "Out means Out!" It is a democratic country. If I want to give you a gift, would I force you to have it? I made it a gift, without winning or losing 1 € which is a gift for the community? If you say "no thank you," I must respect that.

To this day, I am not a football fan, I am a businessman and this is the reason the club has gone from liquidation order. Did you know that we broke the English football record? Less than two and a half years after his liquidation, his automatic promotion to the Premier League, the final of the FA Cup, his qualification in Europe. Then they want me to go out and I have to respect that, and I do it.

DB: So what is the stumbling block? It's been a while since you try to sell it. Is it too expensive? Do you ask for too much money?

AA: We do not ask for too much money. We are not trying to generate a profit of £ 1. We are not looking for a loss either because we have worked very hard. Do you know that Ehab and I, for eight years, have not earned £ 1 in salary, remuneration or attendance fees? Absolutely nothing.

DB: People think you have made millions of this football club.

AA: (laughs) They can think what they want. The accounts are there and they can watch everything. We spent 88 million pounds of my business here, money lent to the club to get what it has. There are not many people in the world who do not know Hull City or Hull Tigers. It's a huge feat and we saved the club from relegation. We moved the club for it to be profitable. The club remains profitable, we have won money the two previous years. We corrected that and it started to make money.

DB: The fans want to know, Assem, where is the money going? Does it go back into the business, does it pay off debt?

AA: It's partly debt repayment. There is a difference between asking £ 88m and asking £ 50m. The more you ask for 50 million pounds, the more you are interested, especially when you are not in the Premier League. You can get between 80 and 90 million pounds that we had almost in the Premier League. We actually had this. You would never sell in the championship for £ 88m. So we reduced that to £ 50m.

DB: Is the level of debt that the club owes you now?

AA: It's £ 50m from today.

DB: Is this the asking price?

AA: Yes, the lower the loan, the lower the asking price. I do not want to take advantage of it. If you have more money, pay me the debt and keep the rest to improve the team.

DB: Do you think that you will sell it as it has been on the market for a few years now? Several people took a look at it and the agreement was not reached. Do you have to accept the fact that you do not sell it?

AA: No, everything is salable at a price.

DB: Do you need to lower the price and try it?

AA: Yes, but I'm not looking forward to it because it's not just the loan. It's a difficult life for Ehab and myself for eight years without any remuneration. The council does not pay £ 1 for Ehab or myself. How many clubs will do that? Ehab is a general manager, free of charge, for eight and a half years.

DB: So, how do you sell it?

AA: We already had a case, the Chinese, who were interested and they had the money. Then the fans when they threw the balls during the match that killed the agreement. What they said was during the process: "We know what you've done for this city and this club and it's something we're never going to match. But if that's what you get back, what about us? One day, things are not going so well. They thought we had militant supporters to prevent the game from being played by throwing the balls. Each club has activist fans around the world. It's still a minority and you'll always have one. It scared them at the time but they have the money.

DB: The membership regime appeared to be criticizing and the doors collapsed. Are you going to review the membership scheme? Is there a way to make it more acceptable or more attractive?

AA: We had many meetings with the supporters' representatives. I made the point of attending it. Ehab also attended. We had a few meetings that went well until the Head of Supporters Trust (Geoff Bielby) … I pointed out that we had great respect for the representatives. I respect the fans, they are my clients. The meeting in the president's suite, with food and drinks, and we were fine.

The members will tell you. One day after the meeting, after drinking my drink and my food, (Bielby) stood up and said, "Before we leave, we have a message for you." We opened the plastic luggage rack and there were two scarves. "Allam out". He came in following my president, I showed respect in offering drinks and food, then he gave me two scarves, one for me and one for Ehab.

That's all. No more. I am not present I have qualified executives to attend meetings. Ehab and I are not here because I followed what he said, Allam out. I will not accept it. Name someone who would accept that.

DB: I'm sure Geoff would agree that it was a misjudgment. Is there no return possible?

AA: Someone from his experience is not a miscalculation.

DB: Do you think the club will be sold in the summer? Would you sell a Premier League club or a championship club?

AA: I hope it's the Premier League. There is someone who is talking to us now. I hope that something will come to fruition. It takes time. We have a story of militant fans and that does not help. What is better done now is that relations with the Council are returning to normal. We had three members of the Council out loud against us for no reason. The three are out of it.

DB: Is the relationship with the Council better now?

AA: It's very good actually. I've always had good relationships with Steve Brady, the head of the board, and with many board members. There are 57 councilors. When three of them are against you for one reason or another, who cares? There were 54 good advisors.

DB: You said you are talking to someone. Does any one show a serious interest in buying the club now?

AA: I do not know how bad it is, it is too early. But we should have a meeting in 10-14 days.

DB: Is this a new party?

AA: yes

DB: Is Paul Duffen completely out of the picture?

AA: Oh yes.

DB: I guess the money was not spent?

AA: yes

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