Fernando Llorente: My season at Swansea City was one of the best of my career – I hope Snoop Dogg helps them back to the Premier League

The Spanish striker joined Swansea ahead of the 2016/17 Premier League season and went on to score 15 goals in 33 appearances, helping the club survive a remarkable great escape after being bottom of the table at one stage.

Speaking to Hajper, Llorente described his debut campaign in English football as a rollercoaster — but one he looks back on with enormous affection.

“One of the best years of my career,” he said. “Wonderful memories, first because it was my debut season in the Premier League and I played as a starter, many games, being important and decisive.”

The season was far from straightforward, however. Swansea went through three managers — Francesco Guidolin, Bob Bradley, and Paul Clement — and Llorente himself suffered a fractured rib in a clash with Virgil van Dijk early in the campaign.

“It was also very difficult because we had three coaches,” he said. “Francesco Guidolin signed me. It didn’t go well at the beginning… Then I got injured and missed about a month.”

But the second half of the season proved transformative. Clement steadied the ship and the Swans pulled off one of the great survivals, winning four of their last five games to finish 15th.

“We finished the season flying,” said Llorente. “In the second half of the season we played at an incredible level, from being bottom and everyone writing us off, we ended up 12th or 13th. Incredible.”

Llorente also paid tribute to the Jack Army, contrasting the warmth of Swansea’s supporters with the reaction he might have expected back home in Spain.

“I was very surprised by how the fans treated us when we were practically relegated — with so much love and support, no shouting, no bad words. In Spain if you’re in that situation they kill you. So you see two different cultures.”

The striker left the following summer, joining Tottenham Hotspur in a deal that came together at the last moment after interest from Chelsea fell through.

“In the summer I had offers from Chelsea — Antonio Conte, who I had played with at Juventus — but at the last moment Tottenham came in and, because Chelsea and Swansea couldn’t agree, I went to Tottenham. It’s a shame I only stayed one year.”

Now, with Swansea in the Championship and rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg among the club’s new investors, Llorente says he is keeping a close eye on developments at the Liberty Stadium.

“I hope so. For the club and the city it would be incredible. I hope they return to the Premier League,” he said. “I haven’t been back since I left and I’d love to. It’s a place where I felt very loved. I hope Snoop Dogg helps them build a great team and great group so they can get promoted.”

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Fernando Llorente’s quotes courtesy of Hajper.

Swansea City plan huge fan zone for more than 1,700 fans — with self-pour beer taps, a big screen and a bierkeller vibe

The club has lodged a pre-application planning inquiry with Swansea Council for the development, which would sit behind the South Stand on land that currently serves as little more than a service road. The reference number is 2026/0561/PRE.

And the ambition is serious. Plans drawn up by AFL Architects show a covered structure roughly 40 metres long, with rows of food and drink kiosks, a raised viewing gallery with self-pour beer taps, a stage, a large screen and bierkeller-style bench seating. Capacity at ground floor level would be around 1,166 — rising to more than 1,766 with a full upper mezzanine added above the kiosks.

The club’s own brief for the project doesn’t pull its punches about why it’s needed. It notes that 72% of fans arrive more than an hour before kick-off but currently have a poor experience — with narrow concourses, slow serving times and toilets opposite the food stands. Many supporters simply head elsewhere to spend their money before games. The new fan zone is designed to change all of that, with the brief explicitly calling for frictionless self-service technology and an Instagram “wow moment” at the entrance. Indicative visuals show a sweeping club mural running the full length of the building’s exterior.

The club wants it open for the start of the 2026/27 season.

There are some physical constraints on what can be built. A public footpath and mature trees to the west must be kept, an operational electricity substation limits the northern end, and a steep embankment restricts the east side. The architects say all of these have been worked into the design.

A second phase is also being talked about. The area beyond the fan zone could eventually house a football museum, community event space or premium food and drink venue — giving the stadium a reason for people to visit on non-matchday days too.

It all fits with the vision Snoop Dogg laid out when he became a minority investor in the club last summer. The rapper told Swansea Bay News he wanted to make Swansea “the Vegas of Wales” over the next decade — transforming the stadium into a destination, not just a matchday venue. A fan zone of this scale, with live entertainment, big screens and a self-service bar, is exactly what that would need.

The financial case for it is also pretty clear. Swansea City’s most recent accounts show the club made a £21.6 million loss last season, with owners having to pump in £21 million just to keep things running. Turnover was £22.3 million against costs of £51.3 million. Getting fans to spend more money at the ground — which the brief specifically targets — would help close that gap and reduce the owners’ reliance on writing cheques to keep the lights on.

This is a pre-application inquiry, which is the first step in the planning process rather than a full application. Swansea City Football Club has been approached for comment.

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SWANSEA: ‘I was just hooked’ — the Kev Johns podcast that’s become even more poignant since his stroke

A podcast recorded with Kev Johns before his mini stroke has been shared by Swansea City, giving fans a chance to hear the club’s beloved matchday host reflect on a lifetime of memories at the heart of the Jack Army — in his own words, in his own voice.

The 78-minute episode of the club’s official podcast Way Down by the Sea was recorded at the Swansea Jack in January 2026. Weeks later, Kev suffered a mini stroke. A GoFundMe campaign has since raised thousands for him and his family — and now the Swans have released the podcast, which takes on an added poignancy given what followed.

Speaking with characteristic warmth and wit, Kev — who holds an MBE for his services to the club and the community — traces his connection to the Swans all the way back to the age of seven, when his father and uncle Jack took him to his first game at the Vetch.

“I’ll never forget coming up the little slope in the North Bank and catching the sight of the pitch with the floodlights on it,” he said. “I was just hooked.”

His early heroes included Herbie Williams, Geoff Thomas and Tony Millington — but one name stands out above the rest. Vic Gommersall, a left-back who became far more than a boyhood idol.

Kev said Gommersall had become a genuine friend in later life, with the two hugging on the terraces when the Swans scored. “My boyhood hero became a friend,” he said. “And the last thing I could do for my dear friend Vic was officiate at his funeral service. It was an incredible honour — but it broke my heart.”

Kev’s path to becoming the voice of the Vetch came almost by accident. He had been working as a commentator on a fans’ football tournament when a brief mention in the Evening Post caught the club’s eye. The phone call that followed changed everything.

“I had a phone call from the Swans saying, ‘You’re doing halftime at Wembley,'” he recalled. “I said yeah. They said, ‘Why don’t you do that for us?’ I said, ‘Well, you’ve never asked.’ They said, ‘Well, we’re asking.’ I said, ‘I’ll do it.'”

The first game he hosted was against Exeter — with Uri Geller in tow. “I had to introduce Uri Geller at halftime and he bent spoons in front of the North Bank,” Kev said. “Who’s going to see a spoon at that distance? And I was going, ‘Oh, it’s incredible, the spoon is bending.’ I had a background in comedy magic — I knew exactly how he did it.”

For years, Kev received no fee — just three match tickets. It didn’t matter. “I’d be there anyway,” he said. “It’s not a money-making thing, it’s not a job. I love the club. I really do love the club. If we win, lose or draw, I’m just proud to be a Jack.”

Among the many memories he shares, the Hull game — when a Swansea win kept the club in the Football League — stands out as one of the most electric. “It was not just on the day,” he said of the tension. “It was the whole week leading up to it. It was almost like a cup final. And when that fourth goal went in — my goodness, it was incredible.”

He also played a central role during one of the darkest chapters in the club’s recent history — the Tony Petty era, when supporters feared for the club’s very existence. “Everything was done for the sake of the football club,” he said of his decision to lead the march through the city and then straight onto the pitch. “Orient were playing and their supporters joined us in the march, which is why we will always respect Orient Football Club.”

He later had Petty on his radio phone-in the following morning. “Man, I had to take him upstairs for a cup of tea afterwards because he was visibly in shock,” Kev recalled. He reserved particular praise for Nick Cusack, the club captain who put his job on the line to support the supporters’ campaign. “He stood out and he stood tall and it was remarkable what he did,” Kev said.

The podcast also takes in some of Kev’s more personal memories — including a moving service he held at the Vetch before it was demolished, for supporters whose ashes had been scattered on the pitch. And his recollections of Terry Coles, the young Swansea supporter who died following a match at the Vetch in 1994, are deeply affecting.

“Terry and the boys from Morriston had just got in — they’d been in town, no trouble whatsoever,” he said. “And he didn’t stand a chance.” Days later, Kev was asked to lead prayers at the memorial game. “I looked around the circle,” he said. “Gareth Southgate, David James — John Gregory had brought the full cup final team down to play that game. He would have been excused for using a few squad players. But he brought a full team down.”

Even now, decades on, it is clear the weight of that day has never left him.

The full episode of Way Down by the Sea is available on Spotify and YouTube.

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SWANSEA CITY: Free documentary telling the untold family story of Ivor Allchurch to be released on YouTube on Easter Monday

A documentary telling the untold human story of Ivor Allchurch — widely regarded as the greatest footballer in Swansea City’s history — is to be released free on YouTube on Easter Monday.

Ivor Allchurch – Golden Days was commissioned by the Swansea City Supporters’ Trust and made by David Brayley and Max Webborn — the filmmakers behind the critically acclaimed Wonderland – The Alice Street Story (2023). It will be available to watch for free on the Trust’s YouTube channel from 10am on Monday 6th April.

The film features in-depth interviews with Ivor’s wife, Esme, and sons, John and David, and draws on never-before-seen photographs from the family archive to tell the story of the man behind the legend — a footballer of extraordinary gifts who, those who knew him say, remained humble and grounded throughout a career that took him to the top of the game.

Allchurch signed schoolboy terms at Swansea on his 15th birthday and went on to become one of Wales’s most celebrated players, most famously as part of the Welsh squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden — still the furthest Wales have ever progressed in the tournament. He is remembered not only for his technical brilliance but for his loyalty to his home club and his dignity off the pitch.

The documentary had its premiere at the Swansea.com Stadium last October in front of the Allchurch family and a select audience, before a public screening at the Taliesin Arts Centre and further showings at the Swansea Jack pub, where members of the family and Mal Pope joined a Q&A. It was warmly received at each event, with Ivor’s son David publicly thanking the filmmakers and the Trust for telling his father’s story and keeping the club’s heritage alive.

Swans Trust chair Dave Dalton said the film had been a labour of love for everyone involved. The Trust is inviting fans everywhere to watch when it goes live on Monday morning.

Filmmaker David Brayley said it had been a privilege to work on the project. “It’s been an absolute privilege to work on this film, telling the great Ivor’s story,” he said. “As filmmakers, there’s always that feeling of nervousness as to how a film will be received, especially this one as it’s the family’s view on Swansea’s greatest ever player — but we were both thrilled with the positive and emotional reception the film received.”

The release on Easter Monday gives supporters across the world — many of whom were unable to attend the limited screenings held in Swansea over the winter — their first chance to watch the film.

Ivor Allchurch – Golden Days will be available free on the Swans Trust YouTube channel from 10am on Easter Monday, 6th April 2026.

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SWANS ACCOUNTS: £21.6m loss as owners pump in £21m to keep club afloat — before Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart and celebrity investors came on board

Swansea City have reported a £21.6 million pre-tax loss for the 2024-25 season, with the club’s owners injecting £21 million in fresh investment just to keep the operation running — even as a growing roster of celebrity backers adds glamour to an increasingly pressured financial picture.

The accounts, filed at Companies House for the year ended June 30 2025, show the loss has grown significantly from the £15.2 million reported for the previous 11-month period. It is the latest in a series of substantial annual losses that have become the financial backdrop to the Swans’ ongoing push for promotion.

Turnover grew slightly to £22.3 million — a 3.3% increase on the prior period — but operational costs surged from £47 million to £51.3 million over the same timeframe, widening the gap between what the club earns and what it spends.

Player trading produced a profit of £8.1 million for the year, down from £10.5 million in the previous period when the sale of Joel Piroe to Leeds United had boosted the figure. That profit on transfers continues to serve as an important financial cushion — without it, the headline loss would be considerably larger.

To bridge the gap, the ownership group injected £21 million into the club through an equity share issue during the 2024-25 season. The accounts were approved by the board on March 30 this year, with Brett Cravatt signing off the report. The club has confirmed that further investment has been made in the current season, suggesting the ownership group remains committed despite the ongoing losses.

The accounts were filed under the small companies regime, meaning the directors elected not to publish a full profit and loss breakdown — making detailed analysis of where the money is going more difficult for supporters and observers.

The filing covers the period before the arrival of the club’s most eye-catching investors. As Swansea Bay News has reported, rapper Snoop Dogg joined as a minority investor last summer with an ambitious ten-year vision for the club, followed by American lifestyle entrepreneur and billionaire Martha Stewart, who became a co-owner after attending a match at Swansea.com Stadium. Their financial contributions and any commercial uplift they bring fall outside the period covered by these accounts.

The Swansea City Supporters’ Trust acknowledged the figures and confirmed that football finance analyst Kieran Maguire — host of the popular Price of Football podcast — would be joining them in the coming days to help members make sense of the numbers in more depth. The Trust noted it was “pleased when investment is in exchange for equity rather than through loans” — a distinction that matters significantly for the club’s long-term financial health, as equity investment does not need to be repaid in the way that debt does.

The ownership group itself has changed significantly since the period covered by these accounts. As Swansea Bay News has previously reported, long-serving American investors Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien sold their majority stake, making way for the current era led by Cravatt and Jason Cohen.

The financial picture at Swansea reflects a wider challenge across the EFL Championship, where clubs routinely spend at levels they cannot sustain from their own revenues in pursuit of the enormous financial prize that Premier League promotion represents. The gap between Championship and Premier League broadcasting income remains vast, and the Swans have previously called publicly for a new revenue-sharing deal between the two divisions.

The club has said player trading profits helped ensure compliance with EFL Profitability and Sustainability regulations for the season — a crucial reassurance given the significant sanctions clubs can face for breaching those rules.

For supporters, the accounts underline how dependent the club remains on the continued generosity of its owners. As long as that investment keeps coming — and the new ownership group has shown no sign of stepping back — the club can continue to operate. But with losses accelerating and operational costs rising, the pressure to find a route back to the Premier League has rarely felt more acute.

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‘I AIN’T PLAYING’: Snoop Dogg reveals ten-year plan to make Swansea the ‘Vegas of Wales’

The U.S. superstar, who owns a stake in Swansea City FC, says he is “not playing” when it comes to bringing world-class hotels, clubs, and the biggest music artists to the city.

Snoop told the Mirror that he intends to use his global connections to attract top chefs and billionaire businessmen to finance a total overhaul of the city’s nightlife.

He said: “I got a ten year plan to make Swansea the Vegas of Wales. Don’t think I am playing – I got the connections to get the best chefs, I got connections with businessmen who can finance world class hotels and clubs.”

The 54-year-old father-of-four wants to create a luxury destination where the Swans can “celebrate in style” when they start winning trophies.

Modeling his vision on the legendary American party city, he explained: “Vegas is my town, I love Vegas. They have the best chefs, the best clubs, the best hotels, the best casinos, and of course the biggest artists in the world playing there.”

The rapper also plans to turn the Swansea.com Stadium into a major cultural hub, ensuring global stars no longer skip the city on their world tours.

He noted that while big artists usually hit London, Manchester, and sometimes Cardiff, he is ready to “pull some strings” to make sure the best performers head to the 20,000-seater stadium.

Snoop recently visited the city to watch his team draw 1-1 against Preston North End, taking part in a pitch-side lap of honour that delighted local fans.

The club even produced special Snoop Dogg-themed towels to mark the head-turning appearance of their minority co-owner.

The rapper has previously claimed that if he ever moved to Europe, it would be to Swansea, describing the fans as “my people.”

He added: “It’s a proper working-class city, and I feel at home there.”

The Hip‑hop icon has previously said he wanted to turn Swansea City into a global brand and help drive the club back to the Premier League — promising to be “hands on” in the process.

He’s also brought celebrity US homemaking and lifestyle expert Martha Stewart on-board in becoming a minority owner of the football club.

With Snoop’s “commercial head” now focused on the bay, the next decade could see the city’s skyline and entertainment scene transformed forever.

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𝗦𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗗𝗼𝗴𝗴 𝗴𝗲𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃é𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗱𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗖

Snoop Dogg heeft een privéconcert gegeven in een kantine voorafgaand aan een wedstrijd van Swansea City FC. De Amerikaanse artiest is sinds juli 2025 mede-eigenaar van de Welshe voetbalclub en bracht dinsdag voor het eerst een bezoek aan een thuiswedstrijd in de stad Swansea.

https://www.rtl.nl/boulevard/artikel/5571438/snoop-dogg-geeft-priveconcert-voor-voetbalduel-swansea-city-fc

#SnoopDogg #privéconcert #SwanseaCityFC

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