Mr Xia bought the company in March 2015, and the following December eyebrows were raised in the Chinese business community when it emerged the cousin of President Xi Jinping had been elected to its board of governors.

The decision to elect Xi Yinping was retracted a day later, but little is known about the episode given the tight controls in Chinese media over reporting on Beijing’s top leaders.

Mr Xia himself Tweeted – and then deleted – a post warning people not to believe rumours about the affair.

There are few reports detailing Dr Xia’s personal wealth or his self-professed love of football in Chinese media.

He does not appear on the Hurun report – a list of China’s most wealthy. The latest report has more than 1,700 people, with wealth ranging from $34.7bn (£23.7bn) to $310m (£214m).

The businessman from eastern China – whose age has been quoted from 39 to 41 in different reports - said he is seeking to use his investment to forge closer ties between his home country and the UK.

“He plans to make Aston Villa the most famous football Club in China with a huge fan base,” said material from Villa.

Wu Celi, a football author and one of China’s top sports journalists questioned whether this goal was possible given Villa’s fall in status.