This photo of Tony Xia around the Villa dressing room surfaced on social media just hours after the sale of the club was announced.
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Chinese businessman Xia Jiantong, the new owner of English football team Aston Villa, said his goal is to make Villa one of the top European clubs in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
Xia heads up Recon Group, a holding company based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and in Beijing with a mix of investments – including a 75 per cent stake in Lotus Health Group.
The new owner has claimed he is ready to give the club’s new manager, likely to be either Roberto Di Matteo or Nigel Pearson, up to £50million to spend in the summer.
Xia has reportedly already been in contact with representatives of former West Brom and Chelsea boss Di Matteo over taking up the role vacated by Remi Garde -although other contenders remain in the frame. “I hope after one year we will be happy”.
Villa fans held a number of protests throughout the season against former owner Randy Lerner, including protest marches, arriving late to matches and throwing inflatables on the pitch at the last home game of the season against Newcastle.
According to Villa’s website, Xia had chose to buy “an iconic football club in England as the cornerstone of his Sports, Leisure and Tourism Division”.
The deal with American-educated Xia, 39, ends an unhappy tenure for Lerner, who bought the club for £62.2 million in 2006.
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His takeover is expected to be ratified by the Football League and Premier League in the next two to three weeks.
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“As we visited together, and had some unrushed time to discuss his plans, Tony’s excitement to develop Villa Park shone through”, he added.
