At a time when pressure was building on Voss and the club’s hierarchy, many at the club believe Cook’s calmness and desire for stability was one of the main reasons the team was able to turn its form around.
And despite committing for another season, Cook’s tenure at the club was never meant to be long-term.
He was appointed at the end of 2021 when the Blues were enduring a difficult and controversial period.
They’d just parted ways with Cain Liddle as CEO and upon being poached from Geelong, one of Cook’s first acts of business was to appoint Voss as coach at a time when Ross Lyon and Alastair Clarkson had both shown interest in the role.
Upon his departure, Barham credited Campbell for helping the club sign major sponsors like Fujitsu and Amart, growing the club’s membership base from 53,000 to 88,000, guiding Essendon through the aftermath of the supplements saga, and ridding the club of its debt.
“Xavier’s commercial acumen has helped to strengthen this club immensely,” Barham said at the time.
“From a football perspective, under Xavier’s leadership, we qualified for finals in four of the first eight seasons, and in recent years, also secured the licence for our AFLW team.”
Since then, Campbell and his family have lived in France for 18 months and Campbell is believed to be consulting for the Saudi Arabian government.
According to his LinkedIn page, Campbell is currently advising the public investment fund for Saudi Arabia, in regards to their sport investment strategy.
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Campbell is one of several Australians to be poached by the Saudis as they launch a plan of global sport domination, which is off to good start with the exponential growth of breakaway golf league LIV.
Australian legend Greg Norman, who has been running LIV for the kingdom, earns a reported salary of $US50 million ($75 million).
Former A-Leagues and Sydney FC boss Danny Townsend and former AIS director Matt Favier – who was in Paris this month with the Saudi delegation as they ultimately hunt the rights to an Olympics – have also been lured by Saudi Arabia.
According to the two sources, Sayers’ conversation with Campbell was to gauge his interest in potentially replacing Cook, and no formal offer has been made.
Campbell is said to be considering a move back to football, having initially been approached by Richmond earlier this year following the pending departure of chief executive Brendon Gale, who has agreed to become the first CEO of the Tasmania Devils.
It remains unclear how many other external candidates, if any, Carlton has on its shortlist to replace Cook.
Current chief operating officer Thomas Crookes is seen as the leading contender if the club hired from within.
A rising star at Carlton, Crookes, a chartered accountant with experience from leading financial firm EY, was the chief financial officer at the club for five years before being promoted in 2023.
Campbell and Sayers have a relationship that runs beyond football, with the two working across various broader business interests together.
The link to Carlton has been an emerging part of their interactions since Campbell returned recently from France.
Neither would be drawn on this relationship when contacted separately.
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Source Agencies
