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WA businessman Tony Sage’s ownership of Perth Glory is on the brink of collapse, with the club poised to be put into receivership.
Nine News and WAtoday can reveal Perth Glory player and staff wages have been paid for the past five months by loans secured from Australian Professional Leagues, the governing body for the A-League competition that Glory plays in.
Perth Glory owner Tony Sage.Credit: Getty Images
It is understood the sum of these wage payments is around $5 million, but recently APL issued Sage with a breach notice and the club is about to be put into the hands of receivers KordaMentha.
APL is of the belief Sage cannot continue as owner of the Perth club and receivership may be the first step in a process to seek new owners for the club.
It is understood APL has been in talks with other parties exploring whether a syndicate could be put together to buy the club out of administration.
The state government was informed of developments this week by APL chief-executive-officer Danny Townsend, and told the governing body it believes it is essential that Perth retain a team in the national league.
Glory’s last season was interrupted by renovations to its home stadium, HBF Park in East Perth, for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The club played most of its home games at 3000-capacity Macedonia Park in Balcatta. Budget papers reveal the state government gifted Glory $500,000 to compensate it for playing at the temporary venue.
It is understood a further $500,000 payment was made, subject to an independent audit of the financial impact of the venue switch.
While Sage wanted more compensation, the government did not believe the venue switch caused further losses than the $1 million it compensated the club for.
The club’s financial peril sheds new light on football moves this offseason for the club which included the surprise departure of manager Ruben Zadkovich last month, a little over a year after his appointment.
Because APL effectively controls the club’s purse strings, this would seem to explain why the club has made no major signings ahead of the new season which begins in October.
Sage has long claimed that the Glory has cost him millions of dollars of losses to run and he has been exploring sale options on and off for years.
In early 2020 he thought he had agreed to sell a portion of the club to an outfit called the London Football Exchange, but the deal collapsed when it emerged the scheme was little more than a cryptocurrency scam.
Sage is a polarising figure within the WA football community, with relations between him and the sport’s governing body Football West long strained.
The state government has told APL that it would consider assistance for a new owner of Perth Glory at the new State Football Centre at Queens Park, including a possible headquarters development with a rent-free period.
Australian Professional Leagues and the state government have been contacted for comment.
It is understood Sage is overseas in Vienna.
More to come
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