Charlton Athletic owner Roland Duchatelet has demanded the EFL buy the club from him.
The Belgian millionaire has been trying to sell the Addicks for over a year with prospective buyers failing to meet his price.
Charlton fans have been protesting against Duchatelet for most of his five-year spell at the Valley – and the 72-year-old told talkSPORT in an exclusive interview earlier this week that it had been a “major mistake” to purchase the club.
The interview came after properties he owns were vandalised in Belgium in the early hours of Monday morning.
Now, Duchatelet has come up with a bizarre proposal to take Charlton off his hands.
In a rambling ‘official’ club statement released on behalf of Duchatelet, which blames fans for scuppering a sale of the club after spreading ‘fake news’, he criticises the EFL for not protecting foreign owners and demands they intervene.
Part of the statement reads: “New incidents were created by a coalition of fans against the owner based on fake news, like young players were not getting water to drink and staff not being paid due bonuses.
“It’s hard to deny that such actions could jeopardise the ongoing purchase process. The EFL said it would intervene to find out who was telling the truth but nothing like that happened. They did not really investigate things.
“Moreover EFL representatives suggested to the group of critics that their claims of August 2018 relating to the bonus might have some basis (despite the fact the EFL hadn’t investigated).
“Two fans found sufficient support in this ambivalent attitude of the EFL to come to Belgium last weekend.
“They tagged and damaged several properties of Duchatelet, the homes of two friends of Duchatelet and the house of the friend of a friend.
“Football has been the fastest growing industry in England in recent decades.
“However which foreign candidate owner will be prepared to invest millions to get a chance to bring a club to the Premier League and at the same time accept acts of vandalism against his property and intrusion in his private life, wherever in the world he/she lives?
“Therefore the owner demands that the EFL acquires his football club.”
Duchatelet’s time at Charlton has been dominated by disputes with fans, relegation and a revolving-door approach to managers.
Despite this, Addicks boss Lee Bowyer is leading an unlikely promotion charge in League One.
The Addicks sit fifth and are eight points off the automatic places.
An EFL spokesman told talkSPORT: “The EFL can confirm that we have received a request from Charlton Athletic’s majority shareholder Roland Duchatelet, which we will review and subsequently respond to as appropriate.”