A group led by U.S. billionaire Daniel Friedkin is in talks to buy AS Roma although the Italian soccer club said a formal deal had not yet been agreed. The Financial Times reported the deal would value AS Roma at 750 million euros ($840 million), including debt, a record figure for a Serie A team. Shares in AS Roma are listed on the stock market in Milan and the club is controlled by another group of American investors headed by James Pallotta. Following are ownership structures of some of Europe's leading soccer clubs:
ITALY: JUVENTUS : Listed on the stock market in Milan, the Agnelli family that founded the Fiat motor group remain the controlling shareholder at Juve, Italian champions for the past eight seasons. INTER MILAN: Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd bought nearly 70% of Inter Milan for 270 million euros ($307 million) in 2016 in what was the highest-profile takeover of a European team by a Chinese firm. AC MILAN: U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management last year assumed control of indebted AC Milan and injected 50 million euros to help stabilise the finances of the former European champions whose previous owners include former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
ENGLAND: MANCHESTER CITY: Part of City Football Group (CFG), majority owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with Chinese investors led by media and entertainment group CMC Inc holding around 12% and U.S. private equity film Silver Lake just over 10%. Abu Dhabi United Group, the investment vehicle owned by Sheikh Mansour, retained majority ownership after Silver Lake agreed in November to pay $500 million for its stake, making CFG the world's most valuable soccer group with a $4.8 billion price tag. The group's investments also include New York City, who play in Major League Soccer, and Melbourne City, as well as stakes in Yokohama Marinos of Japan, Club Atletico Torque of Uruguay, Spain's Girona, Sichuan Jiuniu of China and Mumbai City. MANCHESTER UNITED: Bought by the American Glazer family for 790 million pounds ($1 billion) in 2005. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2012 but the Glazers retain majority ownership of the 20-times English champions. It has a current market valuation of around $3.25 billion. LIVERPOOL: The European champions and Premier League leaders have been owned since 2010 by the Fenway Sports Group after a 300 million pound deal. Fenway also owns the Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball team. ARSENAL: American billionaire and sports entrepreneur Stan Kroenke struck a deal to take full control of Arsenal in 2018 by buying out Russian rival Alisher Usmanov, valuing the English Premier League club at around $2.3 billion. CHELSEA: Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the London club for a reported 140 million pounds in 2003 and they have since become a major force in the European game.
GERMANY: BAYERN MUNICH: German champions are 75% owned by their fans, with sportswear brand Adidas, carmaker Audi and insurer Allianz all having stakes of 8.33% each.
SPAIN: REAL MADRID/BARCELONA: The two Spanish clubs are owned by their fans through membership schemes. They regularly have the highest revenue of any European soccer clubs thanks to their commercial appeal.
FRANCE: PARIS ST GERMAIN: Owned by Qatar Sports Investments - established by the son of the emir and heir to the Qatari throne Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani - which bought a 70% stake in PSG in 2011. The remaining 30% was purchased from Colony Capital the following year, at a price that valued the entire club at 100 million euros ($110 million). ($1 = 0.9073 euros) ($1 = 0.7627 pounds) (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
