Sheffield Wednesday Exodus Deepens Crisis Amid Ownership Turmoil

Football Park has been closely following the situation at Sheffield Wednesday, with the fallen giant's financial woes continuing to cut deeper into the heart of the club. This has led to players being able to terminate their own contracts due to how dire the situation has become at the club nicknamed ‘the Owls’. This article will take a deep dive into exactly what is going on at the club, and what the future holds for one of the biggest clubs in the EFL.

Why Are Players Leaving Sheffield Wednesday?

Players are now flooding out of the doors of Sheffield Wednesday, as key figures Josh Windass and Michael Smith terminated their contracts last week. Reports suggest that other senior players will look to follow suit in the coming weeks, as players have repeatedly not received their wages since May. Club owner Dejphon Chansiri has been unable to pay his employees and has therefore sparked chaos amongst players and staff who still await payment.

What compounds the situation is the fact that FIFA have a rule in place for such events, which states that players can terminate their own contracts if they fail to receive their monthly wages for two successive months. This is what has allowed the likes of Windass and Smith to leave, with Wednesday veteran Barry Bannan still yet to be offered a contract extension. Make sure to check out our article for more information about players not receiving their wages.

The inability to keep hold of key players is what will really hurt the Championship side, as they have been struck with a transfer embargo until 2027. This means that the club cannot pay transfer fees, compensation or loan fees until January 2027. This has massive repercussions for manager Danny Röhl’s side, as he can’t buy players to fill the void left by this downpour of departing players.

Breaking:

Sheffield Wednesday have lost both Josh Windass and Michael Smith on the back of the unpaid wages debacle.

Two fantastic, promotion-winning Owls just gone.

A shambolic travesty, but they leave as #SWFC heroes. We’ll always have 22/23. 🦉⚽️ pic.twitter.com/17DmLYK0pd

— Joe Crann (@YesWeCrann) July 17, 2025

How Much Is Chansiri To Blame For This Financial Mismanagement?

Well the Thai businessman is largely to blame for the club being plunged into a financial black hole, as Chansiri has contributed in more than just one way. As mentioned above, the Sheffield Wednesday owner has left players without their wages and therefore has resulted in the club being slammed with a transfer embargo. This has stemmed from cashflow problems, which go back to as far as 2019.

This is because in July 2019, Chansiri sold Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium to a company he owned in order to make a profit at the club. Sheffield 3 Limited was the name of the company with the deal being worth around £60m. On top of this, Chansiri asked fans to help cover debts of £2m to HM Revenue and Customs and cover wages in October 2023.

The Owls owner is unwilling and unable to pump cash into the club due to the severe amount of debt looming over his head, which in turn has resulted in the Owls taking the hit. Unsurprisingly fans have called for Chansiri to step down as owner, as he seems to be infecting the club right down to the core with his inability to control his finances.

Fans have gathered to start the march towards Hillsborough.

👊 Dejphon Chansiri. Sell the club. pic.twitter.com/VcB9InRRoY

— The Wednesday ’Til I Die Podcast (@WTIDPOD) April 26, 2025

Will Chansiri Sell The Club?

Whilst the Sheffield Wednesday owner has said he would be open to selling the club, it isn’t as straightforward as it first seems. Chansiri appears to be reluctant to sell for anything less than £100m, but experts have placed the club’s value in the region of £80m. This has made a sale difficult as potential buyers will either have to overpay or hope the Thai businessman lowers his asking price.

There have been previous bids made by consortiums in recent months, with negotiations ending before they even got started. An American consortium was linked to the Championship side, but when the wrong figures were used in an interview talking about the potential takeover, Chansiri pulled out of negotiations. Before this slip up, there has been two previous bids that had fallen short of the Wednesday owner’s valuation of the club. These proposals came in at $40m and £40m plus limited future Premier League promotion payments. Both figures mentioned fell significantly short of Chansiri’s asking price and therefore weren’t even considered.

A UK consortium was also interested in purchasing the club and were in discussions with Sheffield Wednesday for a long period of time. However the Owls owner wanted a £5m deposit to be paid to show that the consortium was able to provide the funds necessary for the takeover. The UK consortium was unable to put together the required deposit which brought an abrupt end to negotiations.

For a deeper dive into how a club so rich in football history has been hit with financial difficulties, make sure to read our article for a full rundown of events.

Sheffield Wednesday's Thai owner Dejpon Chansiri is now urgently trying to sell the debt-ridden English football club after failing to nail a deal over unclear finances. #England #Football

Read Thai Newsroom Reporthttps://t.co/d7wQK186Uk

— ThaiNewsroom.com (@Thainewsroom) July 19, 2025

What Does The Future Look Like For Sheffield Wednesday?

Whilst Chansiri is still the owner of Sheffield Wednesday things will only get worse for the club. He has riddled the club with debt which has had significant repercussions as the Championship side are limited as to what they can do. The EFL have imposed restrictions, such as transfer embargos, onto the club which means the Owls can’t buy players until January 2027. This coupled with the fact that players and staff haven’t received their wages means they are free to mutually terminate their contracts and leave the club.

With players flooding out of the exit door and incomings being non-existent, things look like they are going to get worse before getting better. The club will have to rely on their youth players to step up before they are ready and perform in the Championship. This will most likely see Sheffield Wednesday get relegated this upcoming season, with clubs around them strengthening whilst the Owls are only getting weaker. Any hopes of another mid-table finish like last campaign will look a distant dream, a sad state of affairs for a club who used to rule English football.