There is a common factor at Liverpool, Portsmouth and West Ham. That common factor is that foreign investors have put the clubs in major financial trouble.
Money men
Don’t get me wrong I don’t think that major foreign investment is a bad thing but the people investing in English clubs seem to only have their own interests at heart.
At the end the day football has became a business but to us football fans its about more than just money. We love our clubs whether we are the richest in the league or the poorest.
Unfortunately for most of us fans we don’t have the financial clout of some of these businessmen. They see a chance to make money and they take advantage. In the process sometimes putting the future of their new toy in jeopardy.
American dream gone sour
A good example of this is George Gillett and Tom Hicks at Liverpool. Former owners the Moore’s family had been loyal to Liverpool for decades. However they realised they no longer had the funds to compete with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United. They saw Hicks and Gillett as their knights in shining armour. What they didn’t realise was that the pair would put the club into a financial hole that they may never get out of.
Previously under the Moores family the club had a manageable debt, like most top Premier League clubs. They were comfortable but the team didn’t have the quality to challenge for the Premier League title. A few years later and Liverpool still don’t have the quality to compete for the title, yet now they are competing with massive debts instead.
Far Eastern no promise
Its not just Gillett and Hicks who have bought Premier League clubs and later found themselves out of their depth financially. Portsmouth overspent under French born businessman Alexandre Gaydamak. He was hit hard by the credit crunch and Portsmouth were in huge financial trouble.
Gaydamak then sold his shares and ownership of the club to Sulaiman Al-Fahim, who sold the club just 40 days after buying it. He claimed he had made £70million from the sale of the club and retained all of the clubs real eastate assets. The man he sold the club to is Saudi property developer Ali Al-Faraj.
The clubs financial problems haven’t eased under Al-Faraj and players have even went unpaid in recent weeks. Pompey seem to be getting used and abused by every Far East businessman with a taste for money. The club could go into administration and that would mean a 10 point deduction in the Premier League. A points deduction would mean certain relegation considering they have only collected 11 points in the Premier League this season.
Icy waters
West Ham have also suffered at the hands of foreign owners. Their owners were also heavily hit by the world wide credit crunch and had to pull out of the club. Former chairman Eggert Magnusson sold his shares to business partner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. Gudmundsson was then declared bankrupt and his creditors Icelandic based company CB Holding took control of the club.
The club are now in the big trouble. Not only are they in trouble money-wise but are also struggling on the pitch. The Hammers are currently second from bottom in the Premier League and struggling to find any form. Manager Gianfranco Zola wont have much cash to spend in the January transfer window, so his small injury-prone squad could be in for a long disappointing season.
Success stories
There are of course a few success stories. The main one has to be Roman Abramovich transforming Chelsea into one of the biggest brands in world football. He has spent hundreds of millions of his money on a club he now seems to love. Lots of people were dubious when he first arrived but the Russian has delivered trophies and developed the club as a whole. I cant imagine many Chelsea fans would argue that he has changed the the club for the better.
City transformed
There is also Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City. As everybody in the football world knows his consortium has came into Eastland’s and transformed the side. The club have gone from a team in midtable going nowhere to a side who are competing for a Champions League spot.
Not all bad
The stories of Mansour and Abramovich prove that not all foreign investors are just interested in their own gains. Some buy football clubs to enjoy the spectacle and develop their asset. However these saviours are few and far between and any fan hoping for serious foreign investment should be careful what they wish for, as they might not get their fairytale ending.
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