Premier League chief expects more foreign bids for English clubs
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Premier League chief executive Richard Masters stands next to the trophy before the presentation to Manchester City last season.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Richard Masters, chief executive officer of the Premier League, sees no let-up in the number of bids for English teams from sovereign wealth funds as well as American investors.
“Premier League clubs have become very investable and we have interest in all parts of the world,” he said in an interview in New York on Tuesday.
“In recent years we have had investments by sovereign wealth funds and private equity but principally the US, I see those sort of trends continuing.”
The Premier League is currently promoting a tournament in the United States, with Manchester United and Arsenal playing in front of massive crowds of over 80,000 in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last weekend.
Ryan Reynolds-owned Wrexham also played a second-string United side in San Diego on Wednesday.
Sovereign wealth funds or companies backed by sovereign money already own Newcastle United and Manchester City – Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi respectively.
United are also currently the subject of a bid from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, a member of the royal family and the chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank.
While these Arab countries are investing in the Premier League, the Saudis are also beefing up their domestic league. But Masters said that he is “not too concerned” about the current situation or that the English top flight will lose its popularity any time soon.
“Something new is obviously happening,” he said of the exodus of European-based stars to the Gulf state.
“The Saudi Pro League have stated they want to be a top-10 league by 2030. They are investing in players and managers to try to raise the profile of the league and clubs.
“But it has taken us 30 years to get to the position that we have in terms of profile, competitiveness and the revenue streams that we have.
“I wouldn’t be too concerned at the moment... In the end, the Premier League is a £6 billion-a-year (S$10.28 billion) operation in terms of revenue and that money is reinvested into the pitch. All good competitions have to have revenue streams to back them up.”
Teams including Chelsea, Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Fulham are all owned by US investors, while Premier League revenues have gone from strength to strength.
Tottenham Hotspur have also been linked in recent months with a possible sale. British billionaire Joe Lewis, who is linked to the ownership structure of the north London club, was charged with insider trading in the US on Tuesday. Lawyers acting for the 86-year-old denied the charges, but the legal case could complicate any deal for Tottenham.
Clubs in the Premier League have an average revenue of £332 million, the largest of the big five European Leagues, according to Deloitte’s recent annual review of finance 2023.
Meanwhile, the Premier League is fighting off calls, formalised in a recent government-backed report, to bring in an independent regulator for the football industry.
Masters said the job of a regulator was to approve and check the new entities wanting to buy into the league.
“We have an owners’ and directors’ test but it is an independent board that makes those decisions, not like the owners themselves in the US,” he said, adding that the league’s current rules reflected British government policy.
“If you can invest in the UK, you can invest in a Premier League club,” he said. BLOOMBERG
