Thursday 7 June 2018 13:21, UK
Aston Villa owner Tony Xia has broken his silence after the club's future was plunged into doubt following a missed tax payment.
Villa have reached an agreement with HMRC to pay £1.2million by the end of the week, which is around half of the money it owes in unpaid tax.
But the club needs to find £40m to comply with Financial Fair Play rules after failing to win promotion back to the Premier League.
Chief executive Keith Wyness has been suspended amid reports he fell out with Xia and the Villa owner, who is battling to keep the club out of the hands of administrators, took to social media on Thursday.
He tweeted: "It has been very difficult 2 weeks as I hinted earlier I was almost heartbroken by something. Tried my best to keep beloved AV move forward. Thanks for all ppl standing together going through the difficult time. It was all supporters' encouraging words to keep me/us stronger."
SSN were officially told Aston Villa is not for sale but it is understood that Xia, who has been in China since the Sky Bet Championship play-off final defeat to Fulham, is attempting to attract new investors to share the financial burden, and would be prepared to cut his losses and sell the club for the right price.
Although strapped for cash, Villa will refuse to sell £30m-rated midfielder Jack Grealish on the cheap, with West Ham, Manchester United and Leicester all linked with the 22-year-old.
Grealish has not yet been categorically told he will be sold but that appears the most likely outcome, with a bidding war Villa's best chance of getting the top price.
James Chester has also been linked with a move while fellow defender John Terry will leave on a free and full-back Alan Hutton is expected to depart when his contract expires at the end of the month as the club cuts costs.
