The Tigers’ owner is currently planning for their first season back in the Premier League after 10 years away
Hull City owner Acun Ilicali guided the Tigers back to the Premier League last month (Image: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Acun Ilicali has confirmed Hull City will make a payment to the Allam family as part of their agreement following the club’s promotion to the Premier League.
Under the terms of Ilicali’s purchase of the football club back in January 2022, the Turkish businessman agreed a clause that would see the former City owner make a financial benefit should it make its way back into English football’s top division, ten years on from relegation.
A significant seven-figure payment will be due to the Allams after the Tigers secured promotion at Wembley Stadium last weekend, courtesy of a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
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Ilicali says he retains a strong relationship with former vice-chairman Ehab Allam, who has been a regular at the MKM Stadium in the years since his family’s ownership came to an end, and following the untimely passing of his father, Assem.
The Turkish businessman highlighted Allam’s decision not to sell star striker and Hull-born ace Keane Lewis-Potter in the winter window of that season, though he eventually left for Brentford in a £15m deal the following summer after the Tigers had ensured their Championship survival.
“Yes, we do (have a payment agreement),” Ilicali told Hull Live. “Ehab (Allam) has always been supporting us. I have a very good relationship with him.
“There’s something most people don’t know: Assem had the right to sell Keane Lewis-Potter when I was about to buy the club. Before I bought Hull City, the Allam family had a £10m offer to buy him, but they didn’t sell him.
“One day before I bought the club, Assem said to me: ‘Do you know why I’m not selling Keane Lewis-Potter?’ I said ‘no’, and he told me that ‘I love this city and I don’t want to cause damage to this club. I want this club to stay in the league, so I am not selling him. When you buy the club, please don’t sell him because the offer can go to £15m, so I am not selling him now.’
“Ehab, in our relations over the past four years, has always been helpful in everything. When we had the problems with the (play-off) semi-final, and we were facing the change of team after being informed one day before, we had at least three or four meetings with Ehab. I have always listened to his advice and his experience. He has helped me a lot in that situation, too. About this money, he will never push us, and of course, he will cooperate with us, but we will pay.”
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