Former Wolves chairman Jack Hayward claims club sale row 'destroyed family'

Dec 5 2010 by Jonny Greatrex, Sunday Mercury

FORMER Wolverhampton Wanderers chairman Sir Jack Hayward has claimed his family was ‘destroyed’ by a bitter feud over the famous club and his £130 million fortune.

The generous businessman spent 17 years at the helm of the Black Country team, pouring in £70 million of his own cash.

Sir Jack, 87, helped transform the aging Molineux stadium and propelled the club into the Premier League in 2003.

But the former soccer boss sparked a furious row with two of his children when he sold Wolves to construction boss Steve Morgan in 2007, for a nominal £10.

Sir Jack claims son Rick, 59, and daughter Sue, 62, objected to the sale – and the siblings are now going to court in a battle over his fortune.

He said: “The family realised I was going to sell the club and they said: ‘We want some money’.

“They would not sign an ­agreement to let the club go. They said: ‘We don’t approve of you giving the club away for £10.’

“Wolves was the breaking point. It was Wolves that destroyed the ­family.”