Sunderland A.F.C.
In May 2018, Methven arranged for Juan Sartori and Stewart Donald to buy Sunderland from American billionaire Ellis Short. Methven bought 6% of the club and was appointed as its Executive Director. [13] The takeover is featured in Episode 8 of Netflix documentary Sunderland 'Til I Die : A Fresh Start. Prior to SAFC's acquisition by Donald, Sartori, and Methven it had been relegated twice consecutively and was £160 million in debt and losing over £20 million per annum. [14] The club had been expected by many industry experts to be on the brink of administration. [15] [16]
Under his marketing guidance, the club achieved the highest-ever season average attendance for the third tier of English football (31,500), [17] the highest single-match attendance for League One (46,039 vs Bradford City on Boxing Day 2018) [18] [19] and the highest revenues in League One history. SAFC also received Football Business’ Marketing Award for season 2018/2019 for the club's ‘Big Seat Change’ initiative and was nominated by the Football Supporters' Association for their Best Fan Engagement award. [20] [21] However, he also ran into trouble with fan groups on a number of occasions. In a BBC Radio Newcastle interview in September 2018, he described Sunderland fans who chose to watch illegal live streams in pubs adjoining the stadium instead of paying to watch matches as ‘parasites’, [22] a word he subsequently described as "ill-chosen". [23] Over a year later, he was the subject of a leak from a private meeting with fans group leaders at a meeting to clarify what they were concerned might have been a misleading statement made by him to the press. He explained to The Times , who published the leak, that he had "felt exasperated" by the negative reaction to something he regarded as good news and had reacted "intemperately". [24]
Following the leaked account of the private meeting by The Times, Methven said he had already given notice of his resignation from Sunderland's board, eventually stepping down in December 2019 citing the pressures of business and family life. He explained in a statement that his wife was in the latter stages of pregnancy and that his consultancy clients expected him to be in London more often in 2020. He continued as a shareholder of the club, and as a director of its holding company, Madrox Partners Limited. [25] [2]
Charlton Athletic F.C.
On 5 June 2023, Charlton Athletic announced that SE7 Partners, comprising Methven and Edward Warrick, had agreed a takeover of the club. [26] On 19 July 2023, the EFL and FA cleared SE7 Partners to take over the club, [27] and the deal was completed on 21 July 2023. [28]
It became clear that the major investors behind SE7 Partners were a group called Global Football Partners, comprising American billionaires Gabriel Brener and Joshua Friedman.
SE7 Partners' first season in charge of the Addicks was underwhelming, with the club finishing in lower midtable. Former Luton and Southampton boss Nathan Jones was appointed Charlton manager in January 2024. Other major structural changes at the club were made during Season 24/25 with the appointments of Andy Scott as Technical Director and Dr Will Abbott as Director of Performance Services.
Under Jones, Season 24/25 started slowly, but gathered momentum around the turn of the year, seeing Charlton qualify for the end-of-season-play-offs in 4th place. CAFC went on to win the play-off final, beating Leyton Orient 1-0 on May 27 2025 at Wembley [29] to gain promotion to the Championship for the first time since relegation from that division in 2020.
In March 2025, Methven had announced he would be stepping down as Charlton's CEO. He subsequently sold his shareholding in May 2025 and left CAFC to take up an appointment as Managing Director of Jamaica Premier League club Mount Pleasant Football Academy. On his departure, the Charlton Athletic Supporters Trust said in a statement: "We wish Charlie Methven all the best in his new role with Mount Pleasant. He leaves with the club in a better place than when he joined." [30] In an article for Football League World, resident Charlton pundit Emma Hartnett said: "It's actually a real shame, because I really believe that Charlie has done a good job with us. Maybe he feels like he is leaving the club in a really good place, but I think he leaves the club with a lot of good wishes from fans."
Mount Pleasant and RAEC Mons
Shortly after his appointment to Mount Pleasant Football Academy, Methven and MPFA owner Peter Gould announced that they had acquired a majority stake in Belgian Third Tier club RAEC Mons. Shortly, afterwards they appointed former EPL and Dutch international midfielder George Boateng to the position of Head Coach, announcing their ambition to achieve promotion to the Belgian Second Tier (1b) in Season 25/26.
In an article published in The Athletic on December 10 2025, Boateng commented on his relationship with Methven. “Charlie has the experience and professionalism we need. He’s given loads of advice. He likes to give me options. If he suggests A, I usually pick B! But I think they (Methven and Gould) deserve medals for what they have done.”
In December 2025, Mount Pleasant won the Concacaf Caribbean Cup [31] to get a bye to the last 16 of the Concacaf Champions Cup, alongside Inter Miami, Seattle Sounders, Alajuense of Costa Rica and Toluca of Mexico.
Other Sports activities
On May 27 2025, industry-specific university the Global Institute of Sport announced that Methven had joined its board, as a non-executive director. In a statement, GIS CEO Sharona Friedman said: “Charlie’s appointment signals a new chapter of growth and excellence. He brings un-matched expertise at the intersection of sport, media and leadership. [32] ”
On December 6 2025, Charlie Stebbings of 20VC announced that its Business of Sport podcast platform is to launch a new series called The Breakdown in January 2026 [33] , with Methven co-hosting alongside Stebbings himself. Methven also co-hosts ‘Where’s the Money Gone’, a weekly football finance-specific podcast, with the investigative journalist Adrian Goldberg.
