David Sullivan: how did the pornographer rise so high in modern football?

Sullivan hoped football would legitimise him but claims about historical conduct have led to his resignation from West Ham

• https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/06/david-sullivan-steps-down-at-west-ham-to-fight-claims-about-private-life">Sullivan steps down at West Ham to fight claims about private life

When David Sullivan was growing up in a council house in Cardiff, he dreamed of becoming a professional footballer.

Short and squat, he would never be a player, but later in life the fortune he built through the pornography industry and the property world gave him a route into the sport.

The only problem, Sullivan discovered, was finding a club willing to roll out the welcome carpet for him and his business partners, David and Ralph Gold.

They were fans of West Ham United and bought a stake in the east London club in 1991, only to find entry to the boardroom closed. “We had no contact with the board,” the late David Gold wrote in his autobiography. “They simply did not want David Sullivan and the Golds at their football club.”