Middlesbrough chairman Gibson denies club is for sale

MIDDLESBROUGH chairman Steve Gibson has strongly denied reports he is ready to sell the club.

The Sunday Express yesterday claimed the lifelong Boro fan was ready to end his day-to-day involvement with the club and invite outside investment following their relegation to the Championship.

But Gibson yesterday issued a strongly-worded statement insisting he is committed to restoring the Teessiders to the top flight.

“This report is totally inaccurate,” said Gibson.

“The club is not for sale. I’m absolutely committed to Middlesbrough Football Club and I’m going to stay with the club. The fans can ignore this silly report.

“I’ve made that absolutely clear in the recent past. My sole focus for Middlesbrough Football Club is getting us back in the Premier League. That’s what we’re all working towards and we believe we can do it.”

Boro chief executive Keith Lamb echoed the owner’s thoughts, dismissing the reports as “wide of the mark”.

“Steve and I have gone to extraordinary lengths recently to make it clear to the media that the club is not for sale and never has been,” said Lamb.

“Steve’s commitment remains as strong as ever. We would not normally react to what has become known as football’s ‘silly season’ but this is so wide of the mark it’s important Boro fans know that Steve’s loyalty to the club has never wavered.”

Meanwhile, Michael Owen’s management company have compiled a brochure on the striker in a bid to win him a move to the Premier League.

Wasserman Media Group has sent the document, which highlights the strengths of the former Liverpool man over a reported 34 pages, to a select group of top-flight clubs.

Owen has struggled with injury since joining Newcastle from Real Madrid in 2005 and has fallen out of the England frame.

The 29-year-old is out of contract this summer and, following Newcastle’s relegation is looking for a transfer to revive his flagging career.

Sam Rush, chief operating officer of WMG, said: “Wasserman regularly utilise comprehensive documentation and audio-visual material to illustrate the benefits of our clients.

“Although there has been interest from abroad, Michael has told us that he would prefer to stay in the Premier League. We prepared a document showing all the information an interested club would require and this was circulated to a select group. We also included a medical report and answers to frequently asked questions as well as a review of his commercial benefits and international name awareness.”