I he was he’d have very conflicting interests. On the one hand, he gets a percentage of Alonos pay, and clearly with the new Vodaphone sponsorship, McLaen can pay World Champion salery, Renault cannot. On the other hand, he manages the Renault F1 Team – how would the board of directors look at him after he sold off their star driver?
I’ll just throw this out there for fun: What if he was involved in this deal, and he’s just protecting his own interests by taking the defensive “I didn’t know anything about it” stance?