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Sullivan: ‘Bilic asked for £30m transfer kitty’

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david-sullivan-west-ham-upton-park_3339474West Ham Chairman, David Sullivan has told Sky Sports that Slaven Bilic asked for a £30m transfer kitty when he interviewed him for the West Ham Manager role four or five years ago before he appointed Avram Grant.

Sullivan told Sky “I interviewed Slaven (Bilic), four or five years ago and he wouldn’t come unless we gave him £30m to spend at the time. He was my first choice four or five years ago and we saw three or four people before we appointed Avram (Grant)”

bilicsmiles“He was my first choice then so I remembered that, this time around it’s common knowledge we tried to get a very high level of managers with vast experience and one of them went to Real Madrid, he had agreed everything with us and Real Madrid came in. We therefore went to the best of the rest and Slaven was the best of the rest”

“We were two hours away from appointing Rafa but Real Madrid came in, everything was agreed, we had an agreed contract, I am big believer that what ever happens, happens. He is a top manager despite what anyone says and I think he would have done a wonderful job for us. We tried Klopp as well, he said at the time, he wouldn’t come as he needed a break. it’s wrong to name people really, we aimed very, very high but I am glad with the manager we have got”  

David Sullivan was speaking at an event to publicise the release of a film he has produced called ‘The Fall of the Krays’. The follow-up to ‘The Rise of the Krays’ is released in cinemas and for download on 1 January.

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I am Season Ticket Holder in West stand lower at the London Stadium and before that, I used to stand in the Sir Trevor Brooking Lower Row R seat 159 in the Boleyn Ground and in the Eighties I stood on the terraces of the old South Bank. I am a presenter on the West Ham Podcast called Moore Than Just a Podcast A Blogger on West Ham Till I die a member of the West Ham Supporters Advisory Board (SAB), Founder of a Youtube channel called Mr West Ham Football at http://www.youtube.com/MrWestHamFootball,

I am also the associate editor here at Claret and Hugh.

Life Long singer of bubbles! Come on you Irons!

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3 comments

  • exsoulie says:

    Any manager being interviewed would ask questions about finance for players.Managers like paella fella would not get out bed for 30 million.Slav was destined to come to Upton park to remove that jurassic football that we were subjected to by Grant/BFS

  • MerryMichaelW says:

    Benitez would have been a Highway to Hell, Klopp could never have located our Stairway to Heaven!

    St. Slaven, on the other hand, sits on the right hand of the Moore Magnificent God, and we believe in Bilic the Benificent.

    😉

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