Want to own a football club? Buy Reading for just £1 after owner Anton Zingarevich puts Royals up for sale

Zingarevich has put the club up for sale after missing out on promotion to the Premier League

Nigel Adkins (left) with owner Anton Zingarevich. Zingarevich expects him to be more successful in the transfer market than Brian McDermott (PA)

You could be the new owner of Reading Football Club for just £1 after current chairman Anton Zingarevich put his 51% share up for sale.

The Russian billionaire is looking to sell the club after they failed to win promotion to the Premier League, missing out on the play-offs in a dramatic final day of the Championship. Brighton and Hove Albion managed to pip Reading to sixth, with many fans invading the pitch in celebration after they were led to believe that the Royals had done enough to have one last chance at promotion.

Having finished an agonising seventh, Reading will face another year in the Championship, and it appears that Zingarevich lost his interest in the club after putting it up for sale for just £1.

The catch? The prospective new owner must be quick with their takeover bid, and be willing to take on the £38m debt the club has racked up in recent years.

Zingarevich is believed to have invested £25m in the club since taking over from former chairman Sir John Madejski in January 2012, with the businessman also helping with the search for the new owner.

It is reported that billionaire tycoons from Israel and India have shown interest in purchasing the club, with the promise to pay the debt off instantly, meaning that the club could press on with plans to strengthen the squad in a bid to return to the top flight next season.