MX23RW : Tuesday, December 17 16:41:16| >> :120:4833:4833:

Tony Xia: 'I want Aston Villa to be as famous as Barcelona, Real Madrid'

Tony Xia, Aston Villa's new owner, hopes that the West Midlands club will be as well known around the world as Real Madrid or Barcelona within five years.

New Aston Villa owner Tony Xia has expressed his ambition of helping the West Midlands club become as famous as Barcelona or Real Madrid.

The Chinese businessman passed the Football League's fit and proper persons' test on Tuesday, allowing him to fully complete his acquisition of the newly-demoted Championship outfit.

Xia, who fronts the Recon Group, told BBC Sport: "I hope in five years, or after five years, we will talk of this club as Madrid, or Barcelona - or for someone else as well known and accepted by people in the world to say 'oh, that's the greatest club'".

The new Villa owner completed his first piece of business earlier this month by appointing a new manager in Roberto Di Matteo, a Champions League winner with Chelsea.

ID:274874: cacheID:274874:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:1309:
Written by
Giuseppe Labellarte
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Then Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo on the touchline on November 20, 2012
Read Next:
Di Matteo: 'Villa need players to fight for club'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!