Chelsea’s record spending over the course of the January transfer window has not gone unnoticed. Wholesome changes were made over the course of the month, including additions of headline singings like Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk among others, while also removing some from the squad like experienced midfielder Jorginho, who joined rivals and league leaders Arsenal on deadline day.
The abundance of action at Stamford Bridge has obviously gotten people talking, from fans to pundits to former players and now, even a former owner.
Simon Jordan, the person in question, recently claimed that the prize of Enzo to Chelsea means Borussia Dortmund should be demanding upwards of £150m for Jude Bellingham.
Speaking on the White and Jordan Show on TalkSport, Simon said, “I hate this conversation because of the ridiculous values put on footballers…
“But if you’re talking about this kid Fernandez going to Chelsea from Benfica for £105million, then you’re looking at Bellingham and all that goes with him and you’re starting to move into the territory of £125m or £150m.
“They won’t be asking for it on the drip, either. Dortmund will be saying, ‘We’ve got a load of suitors, so you pay it and you pay it now’.
“And Real Madrid can pay what they want.”
But who is this Simon Jordan and what business does he have talking about transfers and player valuations? That’s a question many are asking. And that’s a question, among others, that we will be answering.
Who is Simon Jordan?
Borin in 1967, Simon is an English businessman who made his fortune in the mobile phone industry. In 1994, Jordan, along with a friend, set up a mobile phone retail company called Pocket Phone Shop. The company achieved a turnover of £102m in FY 1999/00.
What’s Simon Jordan to the world of football?
As a youngster, Jordan was an accomplished player, singing forms with both Chelsea and Crystal Palace. He claimed, in 2006, that he could have made a career out of it but was not interested.
He returned to one of those clubs later in life though.
In 2000, Jordan and co. sold their phone company for around £80m, and bought Crystal Palace. Aged 32, Jordan appointed himself as the chairman, making him the youngest of a Football League club.
The Owner of Crystal Palace FC
Under his ownership, the team was promoted to the Premiership within 4 years, 1 year ahead of his goal.
6 years into his reign, in 2006, Jordan announced that he had purchased Palace’s current stadium Selhurst Park for £12m, news that made every Eagles fan ecstatic.
In 2008 though, Jordan announced that he was looking to sell the club, as he had “been disillusioned with football for a long time”.
But there was no market for the club, the Palace got into deep financial trouble. Jordan could not pay the wages towards the end of 2009 and Palace went into administration in January 2010, ending Simon’s ownership.
As a Columnist
Simon started writing a fortnightly column in a newspaper called The Observer. One of the pieces written by him resulted in the FA charging him, with charges bringing the game into disrepute.
Jordan was fined £10,000 but, with the backing of some other journalists, appealed this. The ex-owner also used the column to highlight the inconsistencies in the F.A. disciplinary panel. The same panel decided no disciplinary action would be taken against Paul Jewell, manager of Wigan, who had been charged on the basis of making comments similar to Jordan’s.
Screen Work
Football programmes aside, Jordan’s first noteworthy TV appearance was in 2007, featuring on an ITV show called Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway.
He also produced a movie in 2008 called Telstar, based on the life of record producer Joe Meek, which got mixed reviews from critics.
A Peek Into His Personal Life
As per sources, Jordan currently resides in Marbella, a resort city in the south of Spain. As per The Mirror in January 2006, Jordan had bought his girlfriend Meg Matthews a Porsche worth £100,000 for Christmas, along with a personalised number plate, and the couple had been together since July 2005. However, the couple ended the relationship in March 2006.
In June 2007, Suzi Walker, the estranged wife of Bolton Wanderers keeper Ian Walker, was announced to be pregnant with Jordan’s child. Their baby, a girl they named Cameron, was born in early 2008.
What is Simon Jordan doing now?
Jordan claims to have lost all of his money due to a combination of factors, including the financial crisis of 2008 and poor investment decisions, like that of Crystal Palace. Towards the end of 2010, he was nowhere near as rich as in the early 2000s.
His current net worth is about $5 Million.
In 2018, the Englishman started featuring on shows of TalkSPORT, a sports broadcaster. He was also nominated as the sports pundit of the year in 2019.
Following a string of successful appearances, Jordan joined Jim White in 2020, a famous TV presenter, on one of the broadcaster’s flagship shows.