Paladini - We were on the brink

Paladini and Briatore: QPR duo

We were two hours from going bust but now my aim is the Premier League. I mortgaged my house, my daughter's house, my mother's house and everything I had.

QPR chairman Gianni Paladini.
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QPR chairman Gianni Paladini has revealed how the Championship club came within two hours of going out of business.

The Loftus Road outfit are now ranked as one of the most affluent sides in the country following investment from Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and Lakshmi Mittal.

They enjoyed a taste of the high-life this weekend as they took on Premier League giants Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup, going down to a narrow 1-0 defeat.

Manager Luigi De Canio has already embarked on a January transfer window spending spree with the R's hoping to regain the top-flight spot they lost in 1996.

But before Paladini persuaded Formula One duo Ecclestone and Briatore and Indian steel magnate Mittal to become the QPR's new owners, they were facing a bleak future.

Alive

Paladini told the Daily Mail: "If I dropped dead tomorrow I'd be happy because my aim was to keep this club alive.

"We were two hours from going bust but now my aim is the Premier League.

"I mortgaged my house, my daughter's house, my mother's house and everything I had.

"I went all over the bloody world to get people involved, and fortunately ended up with Bernie and Flavio.

"Every QPR fan should be proud and can relax because the club is in good hands."