Roy Moodley: I Paid R50M For Royal AM, But PSL Declined

Durban businessman Roy Moodley has revealed details about his unsuccessful attempt to purchase Royal AM in April. Moodley confirmed he paid R50 million for the club’s status, but the Premier Soccer League (PSL) rejected his conditions for the acquisition.

Moodley outlined three key conditions to the PSL. Firstly, he requested that the club not be relegated, arguing it was too late in the season, with 19 matches outstanding. Secondly, he proposed that the PSL award Royal AM one point for each of the 19 unplayed matches.

Finally, Moodley asked for the league season to be extended beyond June, as it would be impossible to play 19 matches between April and 23 May. The PSL declined all of these conditions.

Moodley explained his stance, stating that spending R50 million only for the club to be relegated would drastically reduce its value. “Yes, we bought Royal AM, and when we bought it, there were conditions we put forward,” Moodley told Sportswire, speaking publicly about the matter for the first time.

“Because, at the end of the day, Royal AM did not play 19 matches, and the season was finishing on 23 May, and we signed the deal in April.”

He reiterated, “We gave three conditions to the PSL – one, they must extend the league so we can play the 19 games. The second one was, we buy on the condition that they must not relegate us, and the third one was, for the 19 games, if we don’t play, they must give us draws. And that didn’t happen, and that means we are jumping to relegation after spending so much in buying the status. For us, to avoid relegation, those were the conditions. Furthermore, you can’t play 19 games in six weeks.”

Moodley further argued that playing so many games in a short period would lead to player fatigue and likely result in significant losses, still leading to relegation. He even presented a fourth condition: if the first three were not met, the club should simply not be relegated.

Moodley stated he was trying to prevent embarrassment for the PSL, suggesting they allow Royal AM to remain in the top flight, promote two teams from the Motsepe Foundations Championship, and not relegate them, and operate with 17 teams next season. He proposed that the league could then relegate three teams the following year to return to 16 teams.

“If we are paying R50 million for a team, in three months’ time this team [if it gets relegated], it will only be worth R5 million,” Moodley emphasized. “It was going to be like we are throwing the money down the drain.”

Royal AM’s status became available after the South African Revenue Service (SARS) seized the club in November, alleging that owner Shauwn Mkhize owed SARS R40 million.

With Moodley’s deal falling through, SARS-appointed curator Jaco Venter informed the PSL that another buyer could not be found. The PSL’s executive committee subsequently decided to terminate Royal AM’s membership, removing the club from the log table. This effectively meant all other clubs in the league would play 28 matches, and Royal AM was relegated and dissolved from professional football.

Moodley, a former striker, expressed his love for football and his ambition to own a club in the future. He was speaking to Sportswire during the draw for the Roy Moodley Legacy Cup on Wednesday, a tournament scheduled to start on the 26-27 July, aimed at empowering youth.