Purslow Named Villa Ceo

30 Aug 2018 | james.sanwell@benchmarksport.com

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Former Liverpool chief executive Christian Purslow has been announced as the new CEO of SkyBet Championship club Aston Villa.

The club’s chairman Dr Tony Xia and controlling shareholders Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens confirmed the news in a statement posted on the official website.

Purslow, who will also become a minority investor in Aston Villa FC, is set to take over day-to-day running of the club with immediate effect.

The 54-year-old was Liverpool chief executive from 2009 to 2010, leaving at the time of the John Henry-led consortium’s arrival at Anfield.

Purslow later served as managing director of Chelsea FC from 2014 to 2017.

Commenting on the appointment, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens said: “We are tremendously excited to bring someone of Christian’s calibre and experience into the Club. This is an important step on our journey to return Aston Villa back to the elite of English football.”

Dr Tony Xia added: “I am delighted to welcome Christian who will work closely with Nassef, Wes and myself to move the club in a better direction. I look forward to seeing him shine at our football club.”

The appointment of Purslow follows the arrival of Sawiris and Edens at Villa Park, bringing much needed investment to the club.

Villa, which lost out on promotion to the Premier League in May’s play-off final, has been without a CEO since the suspension and subsequent departure of Keith Wyness in June.

The club was relegated from England’s top division for the first time in its history in 2017.