Teddy Sagi keen on buying Championship club Reading for just £1



Sagi could buy control of Reading for just £1

The Israeli is believed to be worth around £1.5billion

Chelsea fan has a box at Stamford Bridge



Championship club Reading are in at least £38million of debt

Sagi hopes to build a shopping centre and hotel near the Madejski Stadium

He made his money through Playtech corp



Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi is in talks to buy control of Reading for just £1, according to reports in his native country.



Sagi, who is worth around £1.5billion according to Forbes, would pay off the club's debt, which amounted to £38million when they were relegated from the Premier League last June.



The debt has probably risen significantly during their Championship campaign that saw Reading finish seventh and miss out on the play-offs on the last day of the season.



Big spender: Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi, pictured here with his former girlfriend Bar Refaeli, is interested in buying a controlling stake in Reading Room for improvement: Jordan Obita and his Reading team-mates just missed out on the play-offs last season They think it's mall over: Sagi plans to build a shopping centre on the Madjeski Stadium car park

Sagi was spotted flying into the Madejski Stadium last week in his helicopter. The Israeli is a Chelsea fan with a corporate box at Stamford Bridge and if the acquisition goes ahead, Reading appears to be a real estate opportunity as much as the adoption of a new club to support.



Sagi's bid includes plans to build a shopping centre and hotel in the Madejski Stadium car park and a housing development on Reading's Hogwood Park training ground.



The Israeli made his fortune through Playtech Corp, which provides the software for bookmakers' websites and gambling machines, and earlier this year he bought Camden Market for £400m.



Reading's current owners Anton Zingarevich (51 per cent) and Sir John Madejski (49 per cent) reportedly prefer Sagi's offer over that of Indian businessman Mohit Burman because of his strong business connections in the UK and his 'deep pockets.'



Investment: Reading defender Alex Pearce could be joined by a plenty of new faces if Sagi's takeover succeeds

Moving on? Sir John Madejski currently owns a 49 per cent share of the Championship club 'Deep pockets': Reading owner Anton Zingarevich (left) and chairman Sir John Madejski, posing with the Championship trophy in 2012, would prefer Sagi's bid In the market: Sagi bought Camden Market in north London for £400m earlier this year

Indications are that while Sagi would buy control of the club, Zingarevich and Madejski would stay on as minority shareholders.



Reading are being pressed to pay HMRC £3.2m in taxes, adding urgency to the sale talks.



Sagi, 41, is a colourful character who once dated Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli and his partner of the past four years is Yael Nizri, a former Miss Israel.







