Correction of Barnsley Australia Melbourne Victory - 777 Group Belgium - Juipler Pro League Club Bruges - Orkila Capital (Minority Ownership) - Still could win the league. Royal Charleroi Sporting Club - David Helmer and Catalytik Group (Minority ownership, but three, of which Helmer is one, now own 95% of the club) - avoided relegation. Standard de Liege - 777 Group - avoided relegation, but a whole lot of other issues. Belgium - Challenger Pro League Beveren - David Blitzer - in playoffs for promotion, but missed out. Molenbeek - John Textor - Relegated to Challenger League for 2024-2025 season Patro Eisden- Common Group (Coley Parry) - license application was rejected, earned on their 2nd chance. They will remain in the Challenge League after their 6th place finish. RFC Liège - David Kirsch - Finished a surprising 7th place. Belgium - Other Leagues Oostende - Pacific Media Group - Avoided relegation and finisehd in 13th place. But they declared bankruptcy and did not receive a license. They will reemerge in the 2nd Regional Amateur League (7th Division) Brazil Botofogo - John Textor - "controlling interest" - Currently sit in 4th place early in the season. Vasco da Gama - 777 Group - Currently sit in 13th place early in the season. Denmark - Superliga Sønderjysk Elitesport - Robert Platek (MSD Capital) - Finished 1st in 1st Division and promoted to Superliga. Denmark - 1st Division AC Horsens - Binnie Family - Finished in 7th place. Esbjerg - Pacific Media Group - Finished in 1st place, promoted to 1st Division. Denmark - 2nd Division FC Helsingor - Jordan Gardner/Brett Johnson - Finished in 12th place and relegated to 2nd Division. England - Premier League Arsenal - Stan Kroenke - Finished in 2nd place Aston Villa - Wesley Edens - Finished in 4th place Bournemouth - Bill Foley - Finished in 12th place Chelsea - Todd Boehly - Finished in 6th place Crystal Palace - Josh Harris/David Blitzer/John Textor - Finished in 10th place Fulham - Shahid Khan - Finished in 13th place Everton - 777 Group (94.1%) - Finished in 15th place.- purchase not complete Ipswich Town - Mike O’Leary/Gamechanger 20 - Finished in 2nd place and promoted to Premiership. Liverpool - John Henry/Tom Werner/LeBron James - Finished in 3rd place Manchester United - Glazer Family - Finished in 8th place West Ham - Albert "Tripp" Smith (8%) - Finished in 9th place MSD Capital has loaned money to West Ham, Burnley, Derby County, Southampton and Sunderland England - Championship Burnley - Alan Pace/ALK Capital/Watt Family - Finished in 19th place and relegated to the Championship. Leeds United - 49ers Enterprises (Denise DeBartolo York, Jed York and John York) - Finished in 3rd and lost final match to Southampton to not be promoted. Millwall - John Berylson/Richard Smith - Finished in 13th place. Norwich City - Mark Attanasio 18%-33% - Finished in 6th place, but did not win promotion. Plymouth Argyle - Simon Hallett - Finished in 21st place. Portsmouth - Michael Eisner - Won League One and promotion to Championship. Swansea City - Stephen Kaplan/Jason Levien - Finished in 14th place West Bromwich Albion - Shilen Patel and Dr Kiran C. Patel 87.8% ownership. - Finished in 5th place. England - League One Leyton Orient - Common Group (Coley Parry) - Finished in 11th place. Wycombe Wanderers - Rob Couhig - Finished in 10th place. Wrexham - Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney (RRMcReynolds Company) - Finished in 2nd place and earned promotion to League One. England - League Two Gillingham - Brad & Shannon Galison - Finished in 12th place. England - National League Rochdale - World Soccer Holdings - Finished in 11th place. France - Ligue 1 Olympique Lyonniase - John Textor - "controlling interest" - Finished in 6th place. Marseille - Frank McCourt - Finished in 8th place. Toulouse - Red Bird Capital - Finished in 11th place. France - Ligue 2 Lorient - Bill Foley - "significant minority" - Finished in 17th place and relegated to Ligue 2. Red Star - 777 Group - Won league and promotion to Ligue 2. France - National Nancy - Pacific Media Group - Finished in 6th place. Germany - Bundesliga FC Augsburg - David Blitzer - Finished in 11th place. Germany - 2 Bundesliga FC Kaiserlautern - Pacific Media Group (10%) - Finished in 13th place. Germany - Regionalliga MSV Duisburg - Capelli Sport (40%) - Relegated to Regionalliga. Greece - Super League Athens Kallithea F.C - Andrew Barroway - Finished 1st is South Division and promoted to Super League. Panetolikos - KAM Sports LLC - Finished 4th. Ireland Dundalk FC - Brian Ainscough - Currently sits in 10th place. This is last place. Italy - Serie A AC Milan - Red Bird Capital - Finished in 2nd place. Atalanta - Stephen Pagliuca - Finished in 5th place. Bologna - Shilen Patel - minority owner - Finished in 3rd place. Fiorentina - Rocco Commisso - Finished in 8th place Genoa - 777 Partners (Steven W. Pasko and Josh Wander) - Finished in 11th place Inter Milan - Oaktree Capital - Won league. Parma - Kyle Krause - Wins Serie B and promoted to Serie A. Roma - Dan Friedkin - Finished in 6th place. Italy - Serie B Spezia - Robert Platek - not MSD Capital, but family owned - Finished in 15th place Venezia - Duncan Niederauer - Finished in 3rd, could still win promotion. Italy - Serie C Ascoli - Matt Rizzetta/North Six Group - Relegated to Serie C Campobasso - Matt Rizzetta/North Sixth Group - Won Serie D - Group C and Promoted to Serie C. Mexico Necaxa - NX Football USA (Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, Eva Longoria, Kate Upton and Justin Verlander amongst others) - Finished in 9th place. Cancún FC - Jeff Luhnow - Finished in 6th in the Liga de Expansion, but earned promotion to Liga MX. Netherlands - Eerste Divisie ADO Den Haag - David Blitzer - Finished in 5th place. Could still earn promotion. Den Bosch - Pacific Media Group - Finished in 19th place. MVV Maastricht - World Soccer Holdings LLC - Finished in 9th place. Vitesse Arnhem - Common Group (Coley Parry) - Finished in last place and relegated to Eerste Divisie. Poland - 1 Liga GKS Tychy - Chien Lee - Pacific Media Group - Finished in 7th place. Portugal - Primeira Liga Casa Pia - Robert Platek (MSD Capital) - Finished in 9th place. Spain - La Liga - Spain Athletico Madrid - Ares Management - Finished in 4th place Mallorca - Andy Kohlberg/Steve Nash/Stu Holden/Kyle Martino/Steve Kerr - Finished in 17th place. Sevilla - Josh Wander (15%) - 777 Group (Minority Interest) - Finished in 13th place. Switzerland - Super League Grasshopper Club Zurich - Los Angeles Football Club - Finished in 11th place, will play in a relegation playoff to determine if they stay in the Super League. FC Lugano - Joe Mansueto, - Will finish in 2nd place. Yverdon-Sport - Jamie Welch - Could finish anywhere from 8th to 10th. Switzerland - Challenge League FC Thun - Chien Lee - Pacific Media Group - Finished in 2nd place, will play GCZ to determine who will be in the Super League next season. Champions of their leagues - 4 with a possible 5th if Club Brugge wins. Promoted to higher division - 9 promotions with a possible 10th if Thun wins over GCZ. Relegated to a lower division - 6 relegations with a possible 7th if GCZ loses to Thun.
Vitesse needs 19.2 Million Euros by mid June to pay of their debt or they will not receive their license. Club fans crowdfunded over 2 million Euros.
apparently Oaktree Capital had only given a loan to Suning Holding Group, which was used to cover Inter Milan's losses and resulted in Inter being used as collateral for the loan... until today, when the final repayment date was missed and Suning defaulted on the loan. Oaktree now claims to be in control of the club: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-taken-ownership-of-inter-milan-football-club The real question is what they do with it from here. Their only other investment in club soccer is in SM Caen, which they seem content to invest shrewdly in, as the club continues to work towards promotion out of the French 2nd division. Inter is a whole different beast... not sure they want to manage it and might just wind up looking for a suitable buyer.
So, update to this. Four local amateur clubs have come out and said that a merger with Oostende provides no benefit to them, so that is out. If I understand the story correctly, they will not get a national amateur license, so the best they could hope for is 1st Provincial Division. That is not even a guarente. Looks like pro soccer in costal Belgium is gone for a long time.
High-profile visitors Scot McLachlan (representative of David Blitzer, owner of ADO) will see if his club can still come close to the premier league. He will be accompanied by technical director Joris Mathijsen and general manager Natascha van Grinsven-Admiraal. Nope.
Did the Glazers pick up another trophy? Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler Yes, 2-1 over City.
Official press release from the Philadelphia Union CHESTER, Pa. (May 28, 2024) – As part of its ongoing commitment to being a leader in player development, Union Sports & Entertainment today announced a strategic partnership and investment with Lyngby Boldklub of the Danish Superliga. Union Sports & Entertainment has purchased a minority, non-controlling ownership stake in Lyngby in order to expand its technical footprint, collaborate on youth development tactics and strategies and serve as a potential additional vehicle for both Union and Lyngby player and staff advancement. Lyngby’s current ownership will continue to operate the club and make decisions independently. “We admire Lyngby’s achievements and are confident that we can assist each other through thought-sharing and strategic collaboration,” said Jay Sugarman, Union Sports & Entertainment Chairman. “Our process was driven by a desire to enhance the core strengths of our club and to better leverage the network Ernst has established in Europe. Our discussions and interactions have confirmed to us that Lyngby is a club that shares similar values and ambitions with the Union and we look forward to a mutually successful relationship going forward.” "Over the past few years, we in the ownership group have spoken to more than twenty potential, specific investors, but for one reason or another we have turned down the offer. Now we have succeeded with our plans: A model where Friends of Lyngby remains the owner, but where we get a co-investor in the sporting area that matches our club. We think this is the right model for Lyngby Boldklub," says Tommy Petersen, chairman of the board of Lyngby Boldklub A/S. Lyngby Boldklub is a prestigious Danish club, founded in 1921, that has won both Danish championships and cup titles. The club is deeply rooted in the local community and is known for its extensive work with young talents. Over the years, Lyngby Boldklub has produced numerous players and coaches who are widely recognized in the football world. Examples include Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig) and Thomas Frank (Manager at Brentford). Union Sports & Entertainment LLC is the parent company of Major League Soccer team Philadelphia Union, Philadelphia Union II, the Philadelphia Union Academy, and Philadelphia Union Youth Programs. Union Sports & Entertainment LLC also owns or controls more than 100 acres of land along the Delaware River which is home to Subaru Park, WSFS Bank Sportsplex, Union Power Plant office building, and the Independence Blue Cross Training Center. Philadelphia Union and Lyngby have previously worked together when the Union signed Lyngby academy product Sanders Ngabo. From Lyngby LYNGBY BOLDKLUB FÅR AMBITIØS OG SUCCESFULD MINORITETSEJER 💙De Kongeblå har indgået et sportsligt samarbejde med Union Sports and Entertainments, der ejer MLS-klubben, Philadelphia Union.Union Sports and Entertainment har købt 10% af Lyngby Boldklub med option på yderligere… pic.twitter.com/98Cu8BbaR7— Lyngby Boldklub (@LyngbyBoldklub) May 28, 2024
Very cool and exciting for The Union. Is this the first time we've had an MLS club do a reverse CFG type of investment? If so, that's a huge step for the league in terms of international development.
Excl. - Red Bull has agreed a deal to purchase a minority stake in Leeds United, as part of 49ers Enterprises' ownership group.Red Bull will also become the club's new shirt sponsor next season.Story @TheAthletic:https://t.co/e0TKPx08B7— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) May 30, 2024 OMG they did the meme No mention of the size of the stake sold to RB, just that it's a minority share
New long-form Josimar story explains just how much trouble 777 is in... it's actually a pretty wild read. Some of the key take-aways: Genoa, the lone "success story" in 777's portfolio, is still carrying the most debt of any club in Serie A by a significant amount. 777 had made hay out of the fact that the debt has decreased under their control, but Josimar points out that the amount it decreased by lines up with an emergency tax credit given to the club by the government to prevent full-blown insolvency. Josh Wander and Steven Pasko have been forcefully removed from Vasco de Gama's board (we already knew they were ousted at Standard). Steven Pasko has essentially been M.I.A in Belgium, despite being the club's owner on paper. Some of the private creditors in Belgium Josimar interviewed for the story say they haven't been able to communicate with him in 2 YEARS! Additionally, prospective buyers of Standard don't communicate with anyone at 777 or it's holding companies... instead, they are being approached by a private investment bank called Moelis, who asks them to sign an NDA before negotiating. Josimar claims to have sources that confirm Moelis is operating on behalf of A-CAP, 777's largest lender, and that A-CAP has more-or-less forced 777 into receivership, essentially "foreclosing" on all of their clubs. The story about a leaked memo revealing that 777 were "enlisting" a firm called B Riley to "assist managing operational challenges" significantly understated the changes that actually took place... newly filed court documents reveal that, as of May 6th, Wander and Pasko have completely resigned from 777 Partners and that B. Riley has, "independent and unilateral control over 777 Entities". So... yeah. 777 Partners are fully cooked and have left a trail of chaos behind them. I feel so bad for the fans of the clubs they owned... it seems likely that Standard is just the beginning.
Sigh of relief from LAFC, who as of January owns a majority share of GCZ. The storied Swiss club survives the relegation playoff with a 2-1 win on the road over Thun and a 3-2 aggregate win. https://t.co/D6aC66rwcz— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) May 31, 2024
More about 777 Today Everton officially cut ties with 777. Standard has a court date on 21 June this could be the potential bankruptcy of the club. There are well documented reasons why this might occur. Three more that are recent. 7 players from this year's squad were in on loan, they are gone. The unknown will create a major issue for new recruitment, and the U21 team was relegated from the Challenge League, so not much help forthcoming from that team. Also the Supporters Group is encouraging people not to purchase season tickets for next year. This is the Google translate message - I cannot seem to get it to let me embed it.
Not sure if Ivan Gazidis ever became a US citizen, but he spent around 16 years in the US, including starting MLS. Anyway, he is involved in the Canadian group looking to take over AS Saint Etienne: Another French football club moves under foreign ownership. AS Saint Etienne has been purchased by Canadian group Kilmer, which is led by two names Arsenal fans will be familiar with: president Ivan Gazidis and Executive VP Huss Fahmy. https://t.co/T0IzXJ2KTo— Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) June 3, 2024
I'm sure it's subject to the whims of the French government, but FWIW, the club has already put out a release describing the take-over as a done-deal: https://www.asse.fr/fr/actualites/k...n-gazidis-prend-la-presidence-du-club-ac36775 https://www.kilmergroup.com/kilmer-...-professional-football-club-as-saint-etienne/ That said, it looks like The Kilmer Group is a decidedly Canadian company. This might actually be their first investment in a company that started outside of Canada (depending on how you define the MLSE group's franchises... are the Toronto Raptors a Canadian company operating in an American market, or an American company operating in Canada?)
Blue Crow Sports Group, the group that Jeff Luhnow is a part of also owns Dubai Elite Falcons FC and MFK Vyškov in Czechia. I will update the master list with these.
Calvin Ford has acquired 15% of SSV Ulm, Germany. https://www.sportschau.de/regional/...teigt-beim-ssv-ulm-1846-fussball-ein-102.html
KVO is officially declared bankrupt. They are still an Yank Owner abroad so we will keep them on the list. I can not imagine a great ROI for a team in the 4th Provincial League