Ineos' investment in Manchester United. Manchester City's sister club Girona are making rapid progress in Spain's La Liga. Saudi Professional League clubs are rumored to be interested in the Newcastle player. The issue of the multi-club ownership model is back in focus.
Rules regarding multi-club ownership could soon be tightened, with UEFA president Alexander Ceferin recently calling it the “biggest problem without a solution”.
City and Girona have qualified for the Champions League, and City's owner, Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, also owns a 47% stake in Girona.
UEFA rules prohibit them from having “control or influence” over two clubs in the same competition, and Ceferin said in March that they needed rules. “Think again.”
he told the Telegraph Last month it was announced that when clubs under the same control play each other in the same competition, the challenge is one of “perception” regarding integrity.
”[You would] When you say, “Look, I have a competitor,'' you start to lose everything. ”
In 2017, UEFA ruled that RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg (both affiliated with energy drink maker Red Bull) were allowed to play in the Champions League.
UEFA ruled that the integrity of the competition would not be affected, stating that “no individual or corporation had any decisive influence over multiple clubs.''
What measures are being taken?
At the start of this season, Brighton and Aston Villa had to achieve the following results. “Significant change” Comply with UEFA rules.
Brighton's owner Tony Bloom has been involved with Belgian side Royal Union Saint-Giroise, both of whom play in the Europa League. Villa's owners have a stake in Portuguese side Vitoria Guimarães, and both players played in the European Conference League.
UEFA said the changes introduced “substantially limit the influence and decision-making rights of investors over multiple clubs and ensure compliance with the multiple club ownership rules”.
In addition, the clubs involved agreed not to transfer players to each other, directly or indirectly, on a permanent or loan basis, or to use any joint scouting or player databases until September 2024.
premier league in november The club narrowly voted against Temporarily ban 'related party loans' between clubs with the same ownership.
Premier League ownership model
arsenal
American Stan Kroenke acquired a 9.9% stake in Arsenal in 2007, became the majority shareholder in 2011, and took full ownership in 2018.
He owns Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, the holding company for Arsenal and the Major League Soccer team Colorado Rapids.
Aston Villa
Owners Nassef Sawaris and Wes Edens, who call themselves V-Sport, bought a controlling interest in Villa in 2018.
In March last year, V Sports bought a 46% stake in Vitoria Guimarães. In July, after both clubs qualified for the Europa Conference League, the stake was reduced to 29% to comply with UEFA regulations.
brentford
Owner Matthew Benham first took full control of Brentford in June 2012, after first investing in his boyhood club in 2005.
Benham also held a majority stake in Denmark's FC Midtjylland, which he sold in August.
brighton
Brighton fan Tony Bloom secured a 75% stake in the club in 2009 and completed the takeover of Saint Giroise in 2018.
In July, after both clubs qualified for the Europa League in accordance with UEFA regulations, Bloom Became a minority shareholder Union President Alex Muzio increased his investment and became a major shareholder.
bournemouth
In 2022, Bournemouth owner Maxim Demin sold 100% of his shares to Black Knight Football Club, led by American businessman Bill Foley.
Mr Foley is chairman of Cannae Holdings, which owns 50.1% of the club's shares. The minority shareholder group is led by Hollywood actor Michael B. Jordan and is its first foray into professional sports ownership. Mr Foley bought a minority stake in French Ligue 1 club Lorient in January 2023 and secured the license for an Australian A-League expansion team in November. -The league is based in Auckland, New Zealand.Last month, the Scottish Football Association Cleared Foley The deal is set to buy Premiership club Hibernian, provided its minority stake does not exceed 29.99% and does not prevent Hibs from playing in Europe.
burnley
American investment group ALK Capital completed its acquisition of Burnley in 2020 by purchasing an 83% stake, and last month agreed a “strategic relationship” with Scottish Premiership side Dundee.
Last May, former NFL star JJ Watt and his wife, former USA international forward Kealia, announced their investment in Burnley.
Burnley announced in August that US sports and YouTube entertainment group Dude Perfect was also an investor.
chelsea
American investor Todd Boley and private equity firm Clearlake Capital completed their £4.25bn acquisition of Chelsea in 2022.
Boley is also a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, seven-time World Series champions, the Los Angeles Sparks, a women's basketball team, and the Los Angeles Lakers, an NBA franchise.
Chelsea's owners agreed a deal in June. buy majority stock Strasbourg, a Ligue 1 club in France.
There have been concerns in some quarters about Saudi Arabia's involvement at Stamford Bridge. There is uncertainty as to whether Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) holds a stake in Clearlake Capital, although club officials deny any suggestion of direct involvement.
crystal palace
Crystal Palace is one of five clubs owned by John Texter's Eagle Football Holdings. The company bought a 40% stake in 2021 and also owns Brazil's Botafogo, Belgian top club RWD Molenbeek and US academy organization FC Florida.
Textor completed its acquisition of Lyon, France, in 2022.
everton
Farhad Moshiri became Everton's majority shareholder in 2016, purchasing 49.9% of the club's shares. Since then, he has increased his stake to 94.1%.
But in September, Everton were on the verge of being sold to Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners. The potential takeover is not yet ratified By Premier League.
They have invested in various soccer clubs around the world, including Brazil's Vasco de Gama, Belgium's Standard Liege and Germany's Hertha Berlin. The company also owns a stake in La Liga side Sevilla, which won the Europa League last season.
Fulham
Shahid Khan bought Fulham in 2013. He is also the owner of the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars and co-owns the wrestling company All Elite Wrestling (AEW) with his son Tony (AEW's president and CEO).
liverpool
Fenway Sports Group bought Liverpool in 2010 in a deal worth £300m. In 2021, private investment firm Redbird Capital Partners bought FSG shares for around $735m (£533m).
The Redbirds own AC Milan of Serie A and Toulouse of French Ligue 1.
luton town
Luton are owned by the group Luton Town Football Club 2020, chaired by David Wilkinson. Director Paul Ballantyne has a huge interest in the company.
city of manchester
City Football Group (CFG), founded by Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Khaldun Al Mubarak, is owned by three organizations. Abu Dhabi United Group holds the majority at 81%, followed by US company Silver Lake with 18% and Chinese companies China Media Capital and CITIC Capital with 1%.
CFG has 12 clubs on its roster, including Girona, Mumbai City, Melbourne City, New York City, Palermo, and clubs from South America and Asia.
Manchester United
In December, Sir Jim Ratcliffe agreed to buy a 25% stake in Manchester United for around $1.3 billion (£1 billion). This means Ratcliffe's Ineos Group will take control of football operations.
Ineos owns French club Nice, who are second in Ligue 1 and well placed to qualify for next season's Champions League, and top Swiss club Lausanne.
newcastle united
Newcastle is owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which provided 80% of the acquisition funding in 2021. The PIF's assets are reported to be between £250bn and £700bn, which would theoretically make Newcastle one of the world's richest assets. The richest club in the world.
In June, PIF acquired four of Saudi Arabia's leading clubs: Al Nasr, Al Hilal, Al Ahly and Al Ittihad.
The Premier League's vote on a temporary ban on related party loans in November failed to garner the support it needed.means newcastle Will be able to sign players On loan from a team controlled by Saudi Arabian owners.
During the January transfer window, Newcastle midfielder Miguel Almiron was linked with a move to Saudi Arabia's Al-Shabaab, which is not owned by PIF.
nottingham forest
Greek shipping tycoon Evangelos Marinakis bought 100% of Nottingham Forest from Fawaz Al Hassawi in 2017. The owners formed a new company, NF Football Investments Ltd, which was registered in the UK.
Marinakis has also been the owner of Greece's top team Olympiakos since 2010, and has been the owner of Portugal's Rio Avenue since November.
sheffield united
In 2013, Prince Abdullah bought a 50% stake in Sheffield United. Despite returning to the Premier League in the 2023-23 season, Prince Abdullah has announced his intention to sell the club. In February last year, it was reported that the acquisition of Nigerian billionaire Dozie Mmobusi was at an “advanced stage”, but no deal was reached.
Prince Abdullah is the founder of United World Group, which owns a 75% stake in Belgian club Beershot, and owns Saudi second-division team Al Hilal United, France's Châteauroux and India's Kerala United. Retains full ownership.
tottenham
British investment company ENIC International owns 87% of Tottenham. Joe Louis' family trust owns 70% of ENIC, with the remainder owned by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy's family trust.
ENI invested in Rangers, Slavia Prague, AEK Athens, Vincenza Calcio and Basel in the late 1990s, but sold those shares in 2007 to further increase its stake in Tottenham.
west ham
The majority of West Ham's shares are split between David Sullivan (38%), Sparta Prague owner Daniel Kreczynski (27%) and Vanessa Gold (25%).
Gold's shares were owned by her father, David, until his death in January last year. Those shares were then passed on to Vanessa's sister Jacqueline, but when she passed away in March, her shares were left to Vanessa.
Kreczynski acquired a 27% stake in West Ham in 2021. The Czech businessman was influential in bringing Czech Republic-based players Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek and Alex Krall into the club.
Wolf
The Wolves are owned by Fosun Group, a Chinese investment company led by Guo Guangchang.
Guangchang's wife, Jenny Wang, owned a majority stake in Swiss club Grasshoppers, which she sold to MLS franchise Los Angeles FC last month.
