Stewart Donald: Ex-Sunderland chairman hopes to return to Eastleigh
- Published
Stewart Donald is no longer on Sunderland's board of directors, but still owns more than a third of the club
Stewart Donald says he would like to return to a role with National League side Eastleigh if he can sell his stake in League One club Sunderland.
Donald led a consortium which took over Sunderland from Ellis Short in May 2018 and was featured in the Netflix series 'Sunderland 'Til I Die'.
But under his stewardship the former Premier League club failed to get promoted out of the third tier.
Donald sold a controlling stake in the club to Kyril Louis-Dreyfus a year ago.
"I left a lot of friends behind at Eastleigh and it wasn't a finished project at the time," Donald told BBC Radio Solent.
"So if I can organise myself in Sunderland in a way that worked for everybody, that frees me up so that I could go back to Eastleigh and finish the job that I started those years ago, then I think that would be a wonderful way for me to get my football fix."
According to reports, external Donald still has a 34% stake in the club, with Swiss billionaire Dreyfus holding a 41% share.
Uruguayan businessman Juan Sartori and Charlie Methven, who were part of Donald's consortium when he took control of Sunderland, retain stakes of 20% and 5% respectively.
"First and foremost I've got to sort the Sunderland situation out and make sure that whatever I do there is right for Sunderland," said Donald, who financed Eastleigh's promotion to the National League in 2014.
"But the big issue for me is I've owned a football club and gone to games ever since I can remember, and I'm missing that. So I don't think there's any doubt that that's what I want to get back to.
"There is no doubt that Eastleigh is unfinished business, so I need to do everything in the right order.
Donald added: "I think it's quite common knowledge within the game because I've had a couple of other clubs come to me and ask what the situation is, because they know ultimately my shareholding in Sunderland is probably going to go.
"So I'll just have to weigh up my options, but Eastleigh is miles ahead of any other club emotionally for me, so I suppose it's watch this space really."