Reading FC board member says club has turned down takeover offer
Only eight months into the club's new ownership Rick Catania has told us they've had offers of interest ranging from purchasing shares to buying the entire club
Last updated 10th Feb 2026
A Reading FC board member has told us about ownership offers the club has received in the the first eight months since Rob Couhig and his ownership group took control.
Rick Catania says the interest has ranged from offers to buy shares through to ownership of the entire club. Speaking to us from his base in Texas he said:
"I think it's just a validation that what we're doing is working and it's getting attention from other parties. I think that we've been getting approached to buy anything from a share to the club outright and with that serious offers are looked at, but we're enjoying the process and we're not done yet."
Reading supporters lived through torturous years as the club was put up for sale and suffered on and off the pitch. Rick said the interest so soon is somewhat surprising:
"Yeah, yeah, it is a surprise at being so quickly. I think it just shows that it's a great sign that we're heading in the right direction. But, you know, like I said, we're really enjoying this experience. I think so far it's going well and we're very hopeful for the future. I think that's something that we can be very proud of and it appears that other people are recognising that."
Rick joined the board a few months after the club was sold to Rob Couhig and Todd Trosclair. A former collegiate soccer player Rick was a huge fan of the English game, at the time of his arrival the club described him as bringing 'a unique blend of experience, youthful energy, and deep passion for football'. As a businessman Rick said it's always important to try and keep emotion to one side:
"Yeah, yeah, and that's the funny thing about sports is, you know, you have that other component built in of the atmosphere, the emotion, the passion with the sport. That's why people show up and watch these matches all the time.
"It's something that I've had to learn to temper a little bit. It's very easy to get caught up and allow the emotion and the passion to infiltrate your decision making process. But at the end of the day, we need to do what's best for the club. Because it's not about us. It's about the club, it's about the community and the fan base. "
Community
There will of course come a time when the owners decide to move on. Rob Couhig has always made clear he will sell in a few years when the club is back on its feet and preferably in a higher league. Rick said it won't just be about the money though:
"I think that another very important part of that (selling) is going to be making sure that it's the right person coming in. It's not just a number. It's also the vision that the person wants to bring in, the willingness to be a steward of this club for the community and the fan base.
"I think all of that plays a vital role in any sort of transition."
Ross Kestin
The club has recently confirmed that Rob, Todd and Rick have bought up a shareholding from Miami-based Aliya Investments. Rick said the move will give the ownership group more 'agility':
"Yes, so Rob, Todd and I over the holiday period, we bought out their stake in the football club. As part of that, we still have Ross (Kestin) as part of the board of directors, so it's still the four of us. And like I said, very much a collaborative environment.
"We remain in contact, remain good friends with them. And so it just was to allow us to execute our vision and allow them to pursue an opportunity that they wish to pursue as well.
"I think he (Ross) offers some valuable insight. He has, his group has another football club, I believe in Israel. So there is some operational knowledge that he is able to provide that is extremely valuable to us and plus it's once again, like a matter of a good relationship, I think that we're able to work together well and it's still very much a value add."
With Rob and Todd owning the bulk of the club we asked Rick how it had left his percentage. He said it was still to be determined:
"I think with the recent buyout, that is something that we're still working on distributing correctly. So there isn't a very fixed figure yet. I think that once that's figured out and more concrete, we'll have a better answer for that."
Improved
As for the overall state of the club behind the scenes Rick said things are looking much better than the business situation they inherited:
"There's been many strides to right the ship in that regard. I think that where we are today is vastly improved from where we were a year ago and there's still plenty of work to do. I think that we've accomplished some big things and taking back control of certain aspects of the club, like the store and it's a step in the right direction, but the work's not done."