Southampton owner Dragan Solak 'must pay back the £110MILLION loan he used to help buy the club'

Southampton owner Dragan Solak will reportedly have to pay back the £110million loan he used to help fund his purchase of the club by the end of 2024.

The club sit bottom of the Premier League relegation zone after a torrid season that has seen three different managers take charge, and look destined for the drop.

The Serbian businessman will have to find £110m to repay the loan he used to help him acquire the Premier League strugglers in January 2022, as reported by The Times.

Solak also faces the prospect of having Southampton's revenue reduced by up to a third if they are relegated to English football's second-tier.

A spokesperson for the Southampton owner apparently insisted that the club's finances won't be used to make the loan repayment and hasn't been caused by the club's financial position or team's struggles on the pitch.

Solak is the owner of a Luxembourg-registered investment company who's financial reports show the details of the loan that needs to be repaid by December 2024.

The accounts also apparently highlight that an additional £50m is available to be accessed by the Southampton owner.

The 59-year-old made his initial millions when he founded telecoms company United Group in 2000.

That company grew under Solak's guidance to become one of the majoy players in the Serbian telecoms industry and also previously held the rights to Premier League broadcasting in the country.

Solak's net worth is over £1billion and the mogul was the biggest investor as he led Sport Republic's charge to takeover Southampton.

It has been suggested that he is ready to grant additional funding to the club if further investment is required. Southampton are currently favourites to be relegated and are four points adrift of safety at the bottom of the Premier League table.