Derby County

Chris Kirchner announces he will become new owner of Derby County

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 16 May 2022

American businessman Chris Kirchner says that he will formally be confirmed as the new owner of Derby County in due course after finalising terms on Monday.

American businessman Chris Kirchner has taken to social media to announce that he will become the new owner of Derby County.

Having suffered deductions totaling 21 points across two rounds of punishment, Derby were relegated from the Championship this season.

However, for a number of months, there have been concerns regarding whether the Rams will survive with several proposed takeovers either being scrapped or delayed.

As of Monday night, however, it appears that the saga is close to reaching a conclusion with Kirchner revealing that a sale is on the verge of completion.

On Twitter, Kirchner said: "I've been beyond fortunate and I'll never forget how lucky I am. I've had the opportunity to realize many of my dreams and even a lot of things beyond my dreams. Today is a day I'll never forget. I'm humbled and excited to share that we've exchanged contracts with Quantuma and I will be the next owner of Derby County Football Club.

"These contracts are conditional on the sale of the stadium and some small bits. I don't anticipate any issues completing the rest of this process in the coming days. I'll begin funding the club next week.

"The membership agreement with the EFL is agreed too, we have filed with the FA to recognize the transfer and my team is now moving forward on the process to rebuild this iconic club. This has been a traumatic period for everyone and I can say that I hope this is the most difficult transaction I have to complete for a very long time.

"Thank you to so many of you for the kind words and support through this process. Tomorrow is the first day of a new journey together and I cannot be more excited to be a Ram."

Kirchner's first job will be to put together a transfer strategy with manager Wayne Rooney, who is now expected to remain at Pride Park for the club's first year in League One.