West Ham star supports David Sullivan after club exit over allegations | Football | Sport

West Ham United star Mohamadou Kante has sent a message of support to David Sullivan after the club confirmed his exit as joint-chair. The decision by Sullivan has been made after he was made aware of ‘impending publication of serious historic allegations’ and denies any illegal conduct.

Following the announcement by the Hammers and Sullivan’s own public comments, Kante issued a response to the news on Instagram. He said: “In a period like this I wanted to send a personal message to David Sullivan. When I went through difficult times as the beginning of my career, he was one of the few people to trust me.

“He believed in me, supported me with patience and respect, and it meant a lot to me. I can only talk about the man I knew and the help he gave me at an important time in my life. I respect the work of justice and I have confidence that the truth will be established by the competent authorities.

“In anticipation of this, I simply wanted to show him my human support and tell him that my thoughts are with him and his family in this particularly difficult time.” Kante joined the Hammers in August 2024 but has made just 11 appearances.

The allegations against Sullivan do not relate to his involvment in football. He and partner David Gold bought a 50 per cent stake in West Ham in 2009 after selling their stakes in Birmingham City that they purchased over 30 years ago.

On his exit, Sullivan was quoted in a statement stating: “I have recently become aware that factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life are due to be broadcast and published.

“The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media. After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me. I categorically deny these claims.

“I am a private man, and those who personally and professionally know the real David Sullivan, not the caricature invented by the tabloids, know exactly who I am and what I stand for. I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as.

“I have not been provided with any proper explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility prior to publication. I believe that the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality. I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libelous allegations.

“None of these allegations relate to my more than 30 years in football; West Ham United has been one of the greatest passions and privileges of my life. I care deeply about the club, its supporters, its players, its staff, and its future. At what is already a challenging and important time for the club, I refuse to allow personal matters concerning me to become an unnecessary distraction or a source of instability.

“Therefore, after very careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I have decided to resign as Joint-Chair and Director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect.” He also stated that he is “stepping down to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations” and will be making no further comment.