CITY will NOT be sold to American investment group WAGMI United, Stefan Rupp has confirmed.

The club owner has announced that any potential deal to buy the Bantams is off.

In a statement, Rupp said: “On Thursday I received an offer from the WAGMI United group to purchase the football club. This has been rejected.

“A great deal has been aired publicly since the offer was made. This, as well as a number of factors which will remain private, has led me to this decision.

“As a proud custodian of this wonderful football club, my first and most important responsibility is to protect it and safeguard its long-term future, while upholding our values.

“I, and certainly no one else connected to this football club, is actively trying to promote its sale, and my commitment has not changed.

“The matter is closed, and our attention returns to what is truly important, as we build towards a strong second half of the season and aim to achieve our goals.

“I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone associated with Bradford City AFC a very Merry Christmas as we look forward to 2022.”

Meanwhile, WAGMI United issue a response to say they were “bitterly disappointed” with Rupp’s decision.

They also claimed that talks had been going on since early November – and that the German had agreed to a deal in principle before the news broke about their interest.

Their statement read: “This agreement was non-binding and pending additional due diligence on both sides before finalization but there was an agreement.

“He’s obviously now had a change of heart but to suggest that he’d never heard of WAGMI United before Thursday or that no further action was taken following our offer is simply untrue.

“We believe the club’s supporters deserve more transparency than that.

“Of course, Mr Rupp is not required to sell the club to us or anyone else and we respect his decision to do as he wishes.

“We had sincerely hoped to build a relationship of respect, honest and openness with the Bantams’ strong existing supporter base while also bringing in new fans from around the world – taking Bradford City’s rich history and tradition to the next level, on and off the pitch.

“We’re sad we won’t be able to realise that vision in Bradford but we will continue to look for other opportunities to do so.

“We wish nothing but the best to Mr Rupp, the Bradford community and all Bradford City supporters moving forward. Up the Bantams!”