Sunderland owner Ellis Short is prepared to give the club away for free if a buyer can be found to take on the Wearside outfit's substantial debt, according to reports.
The Black Cats' downwards spiral shows no sign of stopping as they find themselves bottom of the Championship table and at serious risk of back-to-back relegations.
Short, who has been looking to sell Sunderland since 2016, is now based in the United States and has handed over day-to-day control of the club to chief executive Martin Bain.
The American purportedly valued the club at £170m as recently as late 2016, when they were still in the Premier League, but the price tag was recently believed to have been slashed to £50m.
According to BBC Sport, Short is now ready to sell for nothing as long as any new owner takes on debts which stood, according to the last published figures in 2016, at £137.3m.
The report claims that around half the debt - £69m - is to Short himself, who may forego some or all of that figure as part of a deal.
Sunderland have declined to comment on the recent reports.
Giuseppe Labellarte
