"A mockery" - Prospective owner takes aim at Dai Yongge in response to Reading FC takeover claims | OneFootball

The Select Car Leasing Stadium has been the latest venue of ownership sagas that have plagued the EFL for a while now.

Reading's owner, Dai Yongge, has faced lots of protests this season. The club have been hit with three separate points deductions this season, taking a total of six points from their overall tally for the 2023/24 League One campaign, for breaches of various financial regulations.

Over the past three seasons, the Royals have had 18 points taken from them. It's only because of Ruben Selles, and his players, that the club aren't sinking down the football pyramid.

Stories of staff having to wear coats in their offices because the club couldn't afford heating, and players having microwave meals and not being allowed to stay over at hotels before games, in an attempt to cut costs, as per The Athletic, have made the situation appear even more stark.

In mid-January, the EFL told Yongge to either fund the club properly, or to sell his majority shareholding to someone that could.

There have been lots of groups and individuals who have been linked with taking over the ownership of Reading, including former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, and Generva Associates, who are now believed to be back in the hunt after their £40 million deal for the club in November collapsed, as per iNews.

One of the more recent bids came from German investor Daniel Loitz. iNews believe that his offer, which was made in January, was in the region of £28 million, but they had also been told that he hadn't been able to provide proof of funds to the EFL.

Loitz already has strong ties to the sport, with investments in a number of women's teams, and an investment in a franchise league in Canada. The Telegraph have also said that he is in advanced talks to buy rugby union club London Irish, in a move that would see the club play their home games at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, as per iNews. Sky Sports understands that he is still in talks for both of these proposed moves.

The German has now spoken out about his attempts to buy the third tier EFL team.

Daniel Loitz on Reading takeover bid

Speaking to iNews, Loitz refuted the claims that he had failed the proof of funds checks and took aim at Yongge. "This is the wildest thing," said the investor. "I already went through a process of proof of funds with verification from banks and provided all the documents in January. I have signatures by account managers, signatures from JP Morgan, Revolut Business – the money is available.

"When you want to be approved by the EFL need to prove purchase price and prove you have two years of funding and a purchase plan and I already went through that – we have the accounts statements, plus account confirmation, plus audit confirmation, plus signature of the account manager.

"Mr Dai is the owner, he can decide if he wants to sell or not but he is making a mockery of this whole situation – he’s torturing the fans, the public and making a mockery of the EFL and other people who want to invest in football.

"This is a myth. I don’t need to explain the history of Mr Dai. The history of Mr Dai is very clear and on record. This is not a gentleman’s behaviour."

Reading fans will hope that the end of Dai Yongge's tenure is in sight

There have been so many false dawns for Royals fans but they will hope that the end of his tenure could be in sight given some of the recent reporting about a takeover.

Loitz's frustrations with Yongge will be reflected tenfold by supporters, who have seen their beloved club brought to its knees under the current owner.

It's been a tough few years for Reading fans and you hope for the sake of them and their club that a proper solution can be found.