With Reading in such dire financial straits, it’s natural to reflect on some of the money they’ve squandered over the years.
The club hasn’t always struggled financially under controversial owner Dai Yongge, and when the Chinese tycoon initially arrived, he was eager to spend money, which contributed to the Royals’ present situation.
Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li bought the club in May 2017, just in time to watch it lose the Championship play-off final to Huddersfield Town on penalties.
Nonetheless, this did not discourage the new Royals owners from spending large, as they brought in Nigerian international Sone Aluko for a sum of £7.5 million as they aimed to return to the Premier League after
Relegation in 2013.
The Royals continued to spend money, and two years later they paid £7.5 million to lure Inter Milan striker George Puscas to Berkshire.
This is a far cry from their present financial state, but spending this money marked the beginning of the club’s financial demise.
Sone Aluko and George Puscas’ stay in Reading
Aluko signed in 2017 and spent four years at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, however he went on loan to Chinese club Beijing Renhe in 2019.
It proved to be a terrible business decision, with the forward unable to make an impact at the club despite a promising start in which he recorded three assists in his first five appearances.
He scored only twice.
During his debut season, he recorded five assists in 39 appearances, and things only got worse in the following years.
He appeared in just 20 games in all competitions in the first half of the 2018/19 season, scoring once and assisting once, before being loaned out to China for the second half.
When Aluko returned to Berkshire in the summer of 2019, he was joined by new signing George Puscas, further pushing the Nigerian out of the first-team picture.
Aluko would make only six appearances this season, four of which came in the FA Cup.
Meanwhile, Puscas had a solid first season, scoring 14 goals in 42 games.
The 2020/21 season was Aluko’s final at Reading, and he experienced some of
Veljko Paunovic led a mini-resurgence, playing 36 times.
Puscas, on the other side, suffered from injury and only played 22 games, scoring four times.
Aluko was released in the summer of 2021 following a four-year tenure in which he failed to achieve the heights expected of a £7.5 million talent, and he joined Ipswich, where he still plays today.
