Kyril Louis-Dreyfus became the youngest chairman in English football when he arrived at Sunderland in 2021. Since, he’s done a rather stellar job. At least most think so.
Promotion from League One and a top six finish in the Championship has been achieved under the ownership of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
Sure, there’s been mistakes along the way, but the Frenchman has certainly put Sunderland back on the map and into contention for promotion to the Premier League.
Sunderland beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 last time out and remain in 4th place of the Championship table, with a 13 point cushion inside the top six.
But fans have had some negatives to say of the 28-year-old on social media.
Sunderland fans divided over ‘penny pinching’ Kyril Louis-Dreyfus
An emerging post on social media has revealed how Sunderland boast the ninth-lowest wage bill in the Championship at £291k-per-week, and it’s gotten Black Cats fans divided over whether or not it’s a good thing.
On one hand, the argument is that a lower wage output is preventing Sunderland from attracting top players. One fan posted: “That’s why we can’t get player to come, we won’t pay the wages.” A similar comment read: “It shows me that the owner is a penny pinching. This is why we struggle to sign players in the January window.”
Meanwhile, this Sunderland fan said of Louis-Dreyfus: “Bloke’s tight as they come, been obvious for years
But other applauded the news. “Well done” said one supporter as another added: “Why all the negative comments. Is this not a good thing?”
This Sunderland fan added: “Should this not be applauded, as we had the 8th highest in the Premier League and got relegated. It’s not what you spend but how you spent it.”
Sunderland’s highest-paid player vs Leeds United’s highest-paid player
Unsurprisingly, it’s Leeds United who have the highest wage bill in the league at more than £700k-a-week.
And in terms of permanent players, Leeds’ highest-paid name is Patrick Bamford at £40k-a-week, per Salary Sport. The same source states that Alan Browne is Sunderland’s highest-paid player at £18k-a-week.
But Sunderland broke the bank to sign Enzo Le Fee on loan in January with reports at the time stating that Sunderland are paying Le Fee’s wages in full until the summer, thought to be £69k-a-week.
So there’s certainly a case to state that Louis-Dreyfus is putting money into the club at a sustainable rate, which is something the Black Cats haven’t had for a long time. But at the same time, others think more is needed to really compete in the Championship.