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Departing Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has said he would not change anything about his time with the club.
American-based consortium COH Sports completed their takeover of the Championship club last week to bring an end to the Saudi's 11-year spell at Bramall Lane.
"When I want to feel proud and happy I compare the first day I entered into the club to the day I left," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"There was many ups and downs but overall I am very proud and happy.
"The thank you I get from fans when I meet them in the street is the reward. That means a lot to me. I'd like to think most of them appreciate the journey we have had the past 11 years.
"I would not change any of it. I think we had good success. There are always things that you say 'I wish I had done better' but all in all I am really proud."
When Prince Abdullah came in as a joint-owner alongside Kevin McCabe the Blades were in League One.
Chris Wilder led them from the third tier to the Premier League in his first spell and they were again promoted to the top flight under Paul Heckingbottom in 2023.
They were relegated back to the Championship last season after picking up just 16 points but have enjoyed an excellent first half of the 2024-25 season and are second after 24 games under Wilder, despite starting with a two-point deduction for defaulting on payments to other clubs during the 2022-23 campaign.
Prince Abdullah said the club is now in the best place it has ever been.
"It's one of the reasons selling was really difficult, because the club has never been in a better place," he said.
"We have a great academy and the average of the squad is very young. If I stayed I would have wanted to get the category one academy.
"Next time we go to the Premier League we will be in a better financial position to invest more. I think if we go to the Premier League then with a few additions we will have the chance to stay."
The sale to COH Sports, which is led by businessmen Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, initially looked likely to be done last summer.
Prince Abdullah said, despite having reservations as the deal dragged on, he knew he needed to sell because running the club had left him "emotionally exhausted".
"It wasn't the easiest of processes. The longer it went the more hesitant I became but at the end of the day I said 'I have taken enough pressure over the last few years, I need to rest and watch the games like a normal fan'," he said.
"They only got their approval two weeks ago. When I met them in the beginning we were speaking about getting the deal done before the [summer] transfer window closes and we have done it just before the next one opens!
"I have mixed feelings about it. I really love the club.
"Owning a club is emotionally exhausting because of the ups and downs. Every fan will suffer after every defeat but when you are the owner the game is not over when it is over. I felt like I needed a break."
He revealed he had met with the new owners on Friday and discussed the possibility of him rejoining the club in some capacity at some point in the future.
"I gave them my advice and told them about some of the mistakes I had made and how to avoid them," he said.
"I told them they can ask me about anything, anytime."
