Cagliari President Massimo Cellino has failed in his bid to become the first Italian to own a Premier League club. West Ham, one of England's oldest clubs, was on Tuesday handed to former Birmingham City owners David Gold and David Sullivan who took 50% of the London outfit with an option on the remaining half. Cellino claimed the club owner, Icelandic financial company CB Holding, had ignored his bona fides, the solidity of a bid he had assembled with the help of Sardinian banks, and his willingness to immediately take over the whole club, which is managed by his fellow Sardinian Gianfranco Zola.

"I'm not just disappointed. I'm amazed," Cellino told Ansa. "I've never seen anything like it in all my years in soccer," said the Sardinian grain magnate, 53, who has owned Cagliari since 1992 and is the current vice president of the Italian Football League. "I'm sorry for the people who backed me, starting with Banco di Sardegna which in two days did what banks normally take 20 years to do". "It was all ready, I had everything stipulated to buy 100% of the club and when I arrived in London this morning I learned that they'd decided to sell to persons who had been negotiating for eight months and then only took 50%". "I was prepared to pay off the debts too and I was ready to make major signings".

"I think England didn't want me", said the Italian entrepreneur, who has built a business empire from his grain dealings and saw himself branded a "crook" by British tabloid The Sun last week because of alleged past financial irregularities. The Sun later apologised to Cellino and withdrew its allegations. On Tuesday Cellino said he had discovered that "a former West Ham executive works for The Sun". "We shouldn't be ashamed of our country, which is so maligned abroad, considering how they handle things here," Cellino went on.

"I found things a lot less clean than (in Italy)". "I'm disappointed for the West Ham fans, a marvelous group of supporters, who deserve more". West Ham, who have won the FA Cup three times and the UEFA Cup once, are currently battling relegation and Zola has been under pressure for months. The former Italy, Parma and Chelsea star, who is hugely popular in England, took over as boss in 2008, his first coaching job in England. Previously he had been assistant manager of the Italy Under-21 side. Among their first moves as new owners, Sullivan and Gold said Zola's job was safe.