Forced to hand back his A-League licence to the Australian Professional Leagues in July, blaming two years of draconian Covid measures for starving the club of funds, Sage believes a credible new owner will be found after the Melbourne-based property group Primeland pulled out at the eleventh hour.

Sage blamed receivers Korda Mentha for failing in their due diligence after initially announcing a successful sale of the club to Primeland boss Robert Brij in mid-October for a fee thought be between $9-14 million.

It’s expected the APL and the receiver will now turn their attentions back to several other bidders, including a consortium from Qatar.

Sage was part of an MLS-based group seeking to acquire the club in what would have been a second coming for the businessman who claims to have pumped in $50 million during his 15-year ownership tenure.

“It’s really a travesty what’s happened - and I feel sad for the supporters who deserve much better,” Sage told FTBL.

“I was kept away from the process (by the liquidator), who didn’t want previous management involved. 

“What’s now transpired is not the APL’s fault. I put my hand up because I just couldn’t afford it anymore and it was taken out of my hands in July.

“There were rumours from two weeks ago that Robert Brij didn’t have the funding required but you trust the process and believe the liquidators would do their due diligence. 

“I was grateful when Primeland came in but it’s now in a difficult situation. However the APL are a professional mob and will continue to look after the players and staff. I have no doubt they’ll get the job done.”

Sage said long Covid lockdowns and onerous travel restrictions tipped him over the edge, whilst welcoming the WA State government commitment to provide $7 million of support over the next fiveyears to Glory, once the ownership issue is finally resolved.

“I just wish they’d shown that courtesy to me but it never happened until the licence was handed back (to the APL who will continue to fund the club until a buyer is found).

“Perhaps they thought I did have the money and was playing a game of chicken. But all I wanted was fair compensation for two years of Covid and 12 months being locked out of my own stadium.

“We were averaging crowds of 9,900 and then went down to paying customers of 2,500. There was $3 million of lost revenue. We put in a compensation claim which we didn’t get and instead that went to a group for outside our state. That was a kick in the guts for me.

“I love the club but just couldn’t do it by myself anymore. I was honest about it and got pilloried in social media for that.

“I’m not a billionaire like some of the west Australian mining guys. Some of the comments hurt but I just couldn’t afford to keep the club going.”

Despite the current uncertainly, Sage believes a saviour will be found to ensure a Glory rebound.

“Whoever does buy the club will be in a good position with the government backing and I congratulate them for that," he continued.

“They’ve dropped 8000 in memberships and it will take a couple of years to get those back - it’s around 3-4,000 memberships now which is a quarter of what it was at its peak just before the pandemic.”

Looking back on his often tempestuous reign, Sage said: “We had 18 years of stability at Perth, albeit I was outspoken.

“One of the ridiculous decisions was staging every grand final in Sydney and I was one of three chairman against that. None of us are any longer on the league. That’s politics for sure or maybe just a coincidence!”

With Bournemouth’s billionaire American owner Bill Folley committing  $23 million to an Auckland franchise, and Canberra joining them in the competition next season, Sage sees only ultimate upside for the A-League.

“I think with people like Bill Foley getting involved the future is fantastic,” he said. “The vision is there and I think the success of the national teams (Matildas and Socceroos) is having an impact, particularly on participation at grassroots level.

“I have full confidence in what the APL is trying to do. It’s never about short term gain. You have to look at the long game.”