Yes on both counts.
My source was inside the Madrid part of the deal, not someone who was an acquaintance or a second hand source, someone inside the inner workings of the deal as much as that is possible.
Donald was brought on exactly as the article mentioned says, as a minority investor. He was seen as a key link because he'd had experience of ownership in lower leagues of English football. We can all second guess that thinking now, but we've also all seen he can talk a good game... he was meant to be the CEO like Jim Rodwell, but with a significant stake.
After the article was published, they moved ahead and were very close to completing, but in the penultimate week, he demanded that instead of being a minority owner, they split the deal 33% for Donald, 33% for person X (who I now think was Sartori) and 33% for Madrid.
Of course, Madrid knew that if Person X and Donald were friends and aligned on how to run us, this would leave them as the real minority in the business and declined to do that, but Donald refused to budge and they didn't want to go in on their own (this is a big thing as most investors like to share risk and their previous experience was Segunda Liga in Spain and below). They pulled out, leaving Donald to do the deal on his own. Their opinion of him was basically mud after he pulled this stunt and blew up the deal because he wanted to be the guy in charge.
Whether the deal to do us was tacitly broached by Donald/Methven with Short before he pulled the heel turn I don't know, but I suspect that Donald identified a way to get the deal done using the parachute payments during the financial discussions as a consortium, realised he could do it himself if Short was in on it, and then decided to make his Spanish partners an offer they couldn't accept.
