Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has announced the Premier League club is up for sale.
The American entrepreneur bought the club from long-time owner Doug Ellis in 2006, but said it is time for the club to look for "fresh, invigorated leadership".
Lerner's future had been in doubt for much of an acrimonious campaign which ended in a second successive 15th-placed finish under Paul Lambert following Sunday's 3-0 defeat at Tottenham.
Villa finished 15th for the second successive season under Paul Lambert
Lerner said in a statement: "Several weeks back I said that following the end of the season I would clarify my future role with the Club, and address what had become seemingly constant rumours of a sale.
"I have come to know well that fates are fickle in the business of English football. And I feel that I have pushed mine well past the limit."
Lambert bought Villa in 2006
VIlla made two trips to Wembley in 2010, reaching the League Cup final and the FA Cup semi-final, but the departure of manager Martin O'Neill shortly before the start of the 2010-11 season signalled the beginning of a decline.
Lerner's successive appointments of Gerard Houllier and ex-Birmingham boss Alex McLeish proved unpopular with the fans and current boss Paul Lambert's tenure has also come in for increasing criticism in the course of another lacklustre campaign.
"I have asked the world of Paul Lambert and (chief executive) Paul Faulkner and they have both delivered selflessly," Lerner added. "On a personal level it is time for me, like the Shunammite, to dwell among my own and get on with other aspects of my career, following a sale."
