KATHARINA Liebherr, daughter of late Saints owner Markus, has opened up on the death of her father and her control of the club in a new interview.
Liebherr, whose father died just one year after acquiring the club in 2009, inherited a controlling stake before selling 80 per cent to Gao Jisheng in 2017.
She retained 20 per cent as investment firm Sport Republic purchased Jisheng's controlling stake in Saints in January 2020.
The 46 year old confirmed that her holding has fallen "well below 20 per cent" following Sport Republic's capital increases.
Speaking to Swiss publication Blick, Liebherr said: "It was a shock when my father bought Southampton. As a family, we had no experience in this industry.
"He bought the club in 2009, he passed away in 2010. I've never seen him as happy as he was that year.
"Even though he didn't get to experience any of our promotions, he still fulfilled his life's dream."
She continued: "When his death was announced, the next day there was a sea of flowers outside the stadium, football shirts with his name on them.
"It was an incredible experience to see how much he was respected there. It shows that he did a lot of things right in the year he was there.
"The club wouldn't exist without him. He took the plunge and took the risk. He acted very quickly. And, this was very important to him.
"He immediately took over all outstanding bills at Southampton to ensure that no SME anywhere could get into financial difficulties when the club was threatened with insolvency.
"I will never forget the reaction. People mourned him who didn't know him. The people and the staff who hugged me with tears in their eyes - that's what bonded me to Southampton forever
"My father's legacy is in Southampton. That's an attachment I'll always feel. And for that, I would also consider my football knowledge too small to invest in other football clubs.
"The fans didn't know what to expect (from me). It was okay for me to have to prove myself first. I think the most important thing is to accept that you don't know anything about football unless you've been on the pitch for 30 years."
Explaining her decision to sell Saints to Jisheng, Liebherr added: "You need a lot of capital. Especially in the Premier League. The heights are not such a problem.
"With Ronald Koeman as coach and Ralph Krueger as chairman, we reached sixth place, and things went very well during the period when I was the sole owner.
"But it's important to prepare for worse times. For that, we looked for partners. My concern was always to find someone to whom I could pass on the club in good hands"
She added: " I always wanted to stay with it, but mainly because I have a strong emotional bond with the staff and can bridge the gap to a new owner.
"Mister Gao had similar values to my father. His daughter is the same age as me, she was also at the wedding. Actually, that would have been a good solution.
"The Chinese state has made Chinese investments abroad more difficult. That is of course deadly for a club. And so we had to find a new solution."
It has been reported that Sport Republic acquired Saints for around half of what Jisheng paid for the stake just four years earlier (around PS200m to PS100m).
Liebherr explained: "Of course, I can't confirm the figures themselves. The sporting development in recent years has not been so good.
"You can't always influence that, especially in a competitive league like the Premier League.
"Unfortunately, we were relegated in the summer, which didn't have a positive impact on the club's value either.
"We want to get back up and then I'm convinced that the club's value will recover. He (Dragan Solak) is also a very impressive personality, I think he can offer the club a stable future."