London mayor Sadiq Khan has rubbished talk that West Ham United could buy the London Stadium from the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), claiming it is one of London’s “crown jewels”.

There have been reports for years that the former Olympic Stadium has become a huge reason for the financial losses the LLDC has suffered. This led to talk that West Ham could take the stadium off of the LLDC for a reduced fee. However, Sadiq Khan has refused to. let that happen.

“We’ve got to make sure that we recognise that this is a London asset. It’s owned by the taxpayers,” he told City A.M.

“We have a good relationship with West Ham. In the past that wasn’t the case. We’ve had a great diamond league athletics event and a great Major League baseball event there. Some great gigs as well.

“I think people need to realise that if you sell off this asset, it’s gone for good. It’s one of our crown jewels. So I’m keen to work with West Ham and other partners to make sure we can make it more successful going forward.

“This is one of the legacies of the bad deal done by Boris Johnson – we’re making do with the bad deal he left us, but it’s one of our city’s great assets. When I speak to colleagues across the globe, we can talk about an asset that we own.

“If a deal was too good to say no to then we’d have to have a conversation, but I hold it in trust for Londoners, just like the other legacies from the 2012 (Olympic) games, Copper Box, the Aquatics Centre, and other great things in London.”

However, West Ham United would be very unlikely to make a high offer for the Stadium as they have such a sweet contract. The Hammers pay just £3.6m a year to use the stadium under a 99-year lease which still has 91 years remaining. Many believe West Ham pulled off the deal of the century for the stadium.

However, the owners buying the stadium could be a brilliant way to get all the fans on side. If the club owned the stadium they would have complete control, meaning they could do a lot more to make it more like a football stadium. While it has improved with some fans getting slightly closer to the action, many fans are still not 100% convinced. The club would have the license to completely change the stadium which cannot be done currently due to athletics commitments.