Coufal: People at West Ham asked me who Křetínský is and how rich he is. I don’t see the rivalry

West Ham have a Czech footprint in the form of Tomáš Souček, Vladimír Coufal and Alex Král. And quite possibly another Czech will join the ranks of the Hammers, this time not on the pitch but in the offices. Daniel Křetínský is expected to join the club as owner.

It should be almost a done deal. Křetínský will buy 27% of West Ham’s shares and could become the majority owner in the future. This is great news for Hammers fans as they have been fighting a long battle against the current owners.

They would take anyone in an attempt to get rid of the current owners GSB. And they don’t care that they’ve never heard of the new owner.

Neither have the people at the club. Vladimír Coufal, in an interview for Deník Sport, tells how he described in the cabin who this Daniel Křetínský is.

“The very next day after the information came out on Sky Sports, I heard some jokes. The custodians and physiotherapists were kneeling in front of me, jokingly asking me to put in a good word for him. They asked who he was, how rich he was. I said he was very fond of football and that his eventual entry into the club might not be bad at all. I hope I said everything right,” Coufal says.

Křetínský has owned Sparta since 2004, but he certainly hasn’t been as successful with it as he expected. In 17 years, only two Champions League appearances and only four championship titles. He has already pumped several millions into the team from Letná. That’s why he may be looking for another club where his investment would have worked out better.

Coufal was at Slavia before his move to West Ham, and in his two years in the red and white jersey he has developed a great relationship with the club. However, he does not see Křetínský as a rival from Sparta.

“Sparta is of course a big rival of Slavia, but now I am at West Ham. I don’t know what else to say. Mr Křetínský is a man who has money and apparently wants to buy a share in the club where I play. I don’t see any problem with that. You don’t see the owners as rivals, as is usually the case with players. The owner is a person who loves football, and thanks to him you can play football because he puts money into it. All players should be grateful to the owners,” Coufal is sure.

Source: Deník Sport