New Leicester City wanted as former owner eyes one last club

Milan Mandaric with Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha after the sale of Leicester City to King Power
-Credit: (Image: ALEX HANNAM)


Milan Mandaric is looking for the next Leicester City as he eyes one final club to take over.

The former City owner is now 86 but says he has the enthusiasm for one last job in the game. The Serbian-American businessman is currently vice president of FK Vojvodina in his hometown of Novi Sad, but is scouring Europe for a new club.

Mandaric is famed for taking over struggling sides and building them up again, as he did at City. A club like Leicester is his target, albeit he has ruled out returning to England.

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While he says he took over at City when they were in League One, Mandaric actually bought the club in 2007. His first full season in charge saw them relegated out of the Championship for the first time in their history. But after appointing Nigel Pearson as manager, the foundations were set for the club’s incredible rise under King Power, who Mandaric sold the club to in 2010.

Speaking to the Portsmouth News, Mandaric said: “My problem is I always like a club where there is room for improvement and I can make a difference. Leicester was down in League One when I took it.

“I have no interest just to be there, not making any difference, I have no interest for that. I want to see improvement all the time, and I’ll eventually get back into owning another football club.

“I cannot resist it because I still have energy. Enthusiasm is the key thing, enthusiasm feeds the energy, and I am enthusiastic about football. So I’ll probably have one more time.

“I don’t want to retire, I will retire one day when I’m gone. I still have the passion to help and have a headache and stress. I do enjoy that sometimes to a point. Sometimes it gets hard and I say: ‘What the hell am I doing?’

“I’m 86! But why not get back? It’s not about the age, it’s the energy and desire. I have seen 66-year-olds, younger people than me, and I have their energy and enthusiasm. I’m going to do it one more time. We will see where. People have called me from Switzerland, France, Serbia, Croatia, everywhere. I am just looking.”

After an eight-year tenure at Portsmouth, Mandaric purchased City for around £25m in 2007, selling the club to the King Power Group for around £40m in 2010. From there, he went to Sheffield Wednesday, spending just over four years at Hillsborough, during which time the club were promoted from League One to the Championship.