Charlton Athletic co-owner apologises after furious West Ham and Crystal Palace jibe

Charlton Athletic co-owner Charlie Methven is believed to have apologised to West Ham following a furious rant against the club and Crystal Palace after the Premier League failed to agree on a £836m financial settlement with the English Football League.

The 20 Premier League clubs met on Monday to discuss the 'New Deal' which strives for greater financial stability across the football leagues in the country. A deal will be put in place, forcibly so by the new Football Regulator if needed, but the Government had hoped that the top flight teams would agree on their own terms.

It has emerged that West Ham and Crystal Palace joined Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth in opposing the deal. The Daily Mail reports that the idea of clubs giving money to benefit rivals has been viewed as 'unpalatable' and 'unworkable'.

The latest obstacle has come as a source of frustration for clubs in the EFL, which are set to benefit from a £88 million financial injection when approved. According to The Athletic, the £88 million cash injection would translate to £3.52 million for Championship clubs, £528,000 for League One sides and £352,000 in League Two.

Charlton co-owner Charlie Methven spoke to talkSPORT on Tuesday and made his feelings on the matter crystal clear as he demanded Crystal Palace and West Ham 'grow up'.

Methven said: “There are a few Premier League clubs that are holding the industry back and are driving the rest of the industry mad for only thinking of their own short-term, narrow self-interest. Frankly, everything else is just noise. It’s on record that Palace and West Ham are leaders of this King Canute-style movement. It’s not yet a matter of public record which clubs they’ve persuaded to be in their corner.

“If you speak to executives from other clubs in the Premier League, they are almost as frustrated as we are. They know because they see a bigger strategic vision of what will happen with the public regulator. [Palace and West Ham need to] grow up. Remember that these clubs, the clubs they run, were very recently Football League members and the fact that in a game of musical chairs they are in the seats they are currently at. It doesn’t mean that at some point their clubs won’t be back in the Football League.”

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Methven is one of seven Charlton shareholders with more than a five per cent in the club, which was purchased by Global Football Partners’ UK subsidiary SE7 Partners in July 2023. After his rant on radio, The Guardian reported that vice-chair of West Ham, Karren Brady, had received an apology from the Charlton co-owner over his remarks.

LondonWorld has contacted Charlton Athletic for a comment.