Vlad claims Hearts are worth £50m

VLADIMIR ROMANOV has placed a £50 million price tag on Hearts as he attempts to sell his majority shareholding in the club.

The Russian businessman also claims to have invested “about £200m” during his tenure at Tynecastle, which dates back to February 2005. He now wants to quit Scottish football completely and claims he has no idea when Hearts last played a game.

Romanov has lost interest in the three football clubs he finances through his company, Ukio Bankas Investment Group, and is reluctant to furnish them with any more funding. He has instructed agents to find buyers for all three and clearly believes Hearts to be a prize asset.

Speaking to the Russian media agency RIA Novosti, Romanov said: “The land is worth £25m, plus the players, the club with a project, are also worth £25m. That’s about £50m. It’s not the money I spent, but know that’s what it is worth.”

Romanov attended Tynecastle last month to see Hearts defeat Celtic but said he has no interest in their fixtures and complained about the football clubs constantly draining his finances.

“I don’t even travel and I don’t know when they last played, whether it was yesterday or Saturday, and I don’t know how they played,” he said. “It is the same for my other sports clubs.

“Every time they just ask for money, and every time I promise not to give more, then they promise to make it themselves.”

Hearts’ first-team players are currently still awaiting payment of wages which were due on November 16.

The club has promised to process salaries as soon as funding is available, which is expected to be within the next seven days.