The entry of the NFL legend in Birmingham follows operations led by great fortunes in historic clubs. Of the 20 Premier League teams, 17 are foreign-owned.
The football season rests in the summer, but the activity in the offices does not. In fact, it has not ceased throughout the year in the English Premier, the league with the most financial power in the world thanks to an income of 6,500 million annually. Its clubs boast a growing ability to spend on transfers and salaries thanks to the battery of operations that has revolutionized the structure of the teams and that is permeating the Championship, the Second division.
The last one is carried out by Tom Brady, legend of the NFL. The seven-time Super Bowl winner has taken a minority stake in Birmingham City, who finished 17th in the competition last season. His goal is to revive the fortunes of a club he describes as “emblematic” but which has been relegated from the top flight for more than a decade.
From Reynolds to the Glazers
The choice of Brady, who will be the president of the board and will reinforce the marketing area, is not accidental, since it comes after the Knighthead Capital fund, directed by the American businessman Tom Wagner, took over 45.6% of the club. The already retired NFL quarterback has already done other business with the tycoon, such as investing in a pickleball team, which is all the rage in the US. Brady also has a stake in the Las Vegas Aces (WNBA) and owns an E1 Series team, a circuit of electric boats driven by Alejandro Agag that has Rafa Nadal or Didier Drogba in its ranks.
Brady adds to the recent interest of foreign businessmen and celebrities in English clubs. In the lower leagues of the United Kingdom, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought half of Wrexham (fifth division) in 2021. And JJ Watt, another former NFL player, invested in Burnley, recently promoted to the Premier where foreign operations have been numerous. So much so that only three of the 20 clubs that played in the top flight last season had English owners, half as many as before the pandemic. It treats of the Brentford, the Brighton and the Tottenham, that for now closes to a sale in spite of the interest of the billionaire Iranian-American Jahm Najafi.
Among the largest transactions of the rest of the clubs, Chelsea stands out, which holds the record in the Premier after the 3,140 million that Clearlake and Todd Boehly paid in 2022, winning the bid made by, among others, consortiums with the support of Lewis Hamilton or Serena Williams. They are not the only investors in English football who do not come from the business world, as shown by the participation of actor Michael B. Jordan in Bournemouth or Lebron James’ commitment to Liverpool.
Another controversial case was that of Manchester City, owned since 2008 by the Arab sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is accompanied by SilverLike, China Media Capital and Citic Group. Newcastle United also stands out, dubbed “the new City” after the acquisition in 2021 by a consortium formed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media. Arsenal is also known for the wealth of American Stan Kroenke, its owner since 2018.
A sum and follow the one that, if there are no surprises, will put the finishing touch in this 2023 Manchester United, in the hands of the Glazers, a well-known billionaire family in the industry. It has spent long months negotiating its sale to a group of investors led by Sheikh Jassim Al Thani, thus consolidating Qatar’s power in sports and the entry of capital into English football.
2023-08-03 18:51:55
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