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Alonso claims EFL stopped Derby deal

Erik Alonso has talked to The Athletic about his failed bid to buy Derby County.

He commented: “Mel Morris is obviously not an easy person to negotiate with. But he has been very successful, and it is for that reason: he is tough. He was fighting for the long-term interests of the club. That is to be expected from a good businessman. He was not aggressive. If he had an idea, he tried to get it across and will fight for his idea.”

“It predominantly broke down because the EFL kept putting up more barriers,” says Alonso. Alonso claims the EFL changed the criteria after he had submitted the relevant documents — included showing proof of funds.

Alonso showed The Athletic three months of bank statements, as well as a deposit of €40 million, which he claims were shown to the EFL. Alonso denies the claims recently made by EFL chief executive Trevor Birch to talkSPORT in early June that Alonso “wasn’t able to deliver” when it came to “tangible proof”.

It is understood that the EFL repeatedly asked Alonso to provide evidence of the source of his funds and he was unable to do so, and therefore it did not feel he met its criteria for funding a takeover and running a club sustainably going forward.

Throughout the protracted process, however, Alonso gave effusive interviews on Talksport and BBC Radio Derby talking about his ambitions for the club. It is a move he does not regret, even if it is believed that some were irked at his boldness before officially taking ownership of the club.

Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball noted that Derby County and the EFL were unwilling to accept magic beans instead of cash to seal the deal.


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