Lerner Explains Aston Villa Motivation

Randy Lerner has explained his reason for buying Aston Villa is not to make money but to have fun.

Lerner paid an initial £63m to take over Aston Villa six months ago and has bankrolled the signings of Stiliyan Petrov, Ashley Young and John Carew.

"What is my prime motive? I can tell you it is certainly not financial," said Lerner. "You can get more out of buying a 30-year bond and I could be by the pool. But where's the fun in that?"

Lerner, who is also the owner of NFL side Cleveland Browns, added: "Who has ever done well buying a club? It baffles me. If someone could tell me how to make a profit from a football club, I'd like to know! Of course, I'm not saying you can't make any profit. What I'm saying is that it not would motivate you to go and buy a football club. My return from Aston Villa is when you see something like Carew scoring the goal last weekend against West Ham which won Villa the game. I want a life of good sport, good people and the competition that goes with it. I'm here to try to get something accomplished."