In June, he turned £42m of the money owed to him by the club into shares, reducing Cardiff’s debt to its majority shareholder by almost half.
The club’s latest accounts, covering the financial year that ended on 31 May 2025, had previously placed that amount at close to £90m.
Maguire said changes to financial control regulations introduced this summer have prompted more clubs to rely on owners and wealthy backers to absorb losses through non-repayable share investments instead of loans.
Maguire compared the arrangement to financial support provided by parents to their children.
He explained that a child may be unable to repay the money and the parent is unlikely to request it, even though it is technically considered a loan. He said Vincent Tan had taken a similar approach.
According to Maguire, this practice is widespread, particularly in the Championship, where clubs lose an average of £400,000 each week and owners generally cover the shortfall.
Although the 1,000-day landmark could concern some Cardiff supporters, lengthy absences by club owners are becoming more common in English football as international ownership increases.
Earlier this month, Blackburn Rovers co-owner Balaji Rao became the first representative of the Venky’s ownership group to attend a match at Ewood Park since 2018.
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour stayed away from matches for almost 13 years, while Everton owner Dan Friedkin has not attended a home fixture since completing his takeover of the club in December 2014 and has yet to speak with David Moyes following the manager’s return.
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