The takeovers of English clubs as Abu Dhabi Sheik fails in £2bn Liverpool bid

[davieG]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6093971/The-takeovers-English-clubs-Abu-Dhabi-Sheik-fails-2bn-Liverpool-bid.html

 

From Glazers' huge Man United deal to Gino Pozzo's Watford bargain... the takeovers of English clubs as Abu Dhabi Sheik fails in £2bn Liverpool bid
Liverpool rejected a £2bn takeover bid from Sheik Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan
It could have represented a game-changing era within the Premier League
Here, Sportsmail takes a look at the takeovers since Roman Abramovich's arrival

Liverpool recently rejected what could have been a Premier League game-changing £2billion takeover bid from a cousin of Manchester City owner Sheik Mansour. 

Sheik Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nehayan, an Emirati member of the family who govern Abu Dhabi, approached representatives of Liverpool's owners over the course of several months in late 2017 and into early 2018. 

Afterwards, he then made a sensational £2bn bid to buy last season's Champions League finalists - which would have constituted the most expensive takeover in the history of football.

It could have paved the way for a real change of dominance in the Premier League as various top flight owners battle it out for instance success in England.

Here, Sportsmail has taken a look at how much the owners brought their respective Premier League clubs for since Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea back in 2003...

MANCHESTER UNITED - THE GLAZER FAMILY (£290M)

United were controversially brought out by the Glazer Family 13 years ago in 2005. The American family, who made their fortunes in real estate and own Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were led by tycoon Malcolm Glazer in their takeover.

Fans were all along against the mega-money takeover and feared the Glazer's ambition and that ticket prices would rise.

However, on the pitch their success continued and since 2005, they have won a total of 12 trophies – five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, four League Cups, one Champions League and one Europa League.

The Glazer Family, led by Malcolm, completed their takeover of Manchester United in 2005    +11
The Glazer Family, led by Malcolm, completed their takeover of Manchester United in 2005

 
LIVERPOOL - FENWAY SPORTS GROUP (£280M)

The £280m takeover in 2010 from Fenway Sports Group - who own Boston Red Sox as well - divided opinion among Liverpool fans. The previous ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett had become extremely unpopular among supporters for their failure to deliver on the promise of a new stadium or on the promise that no debt would be placed onto the club.

In 2012, Liverpool won their first trophy since 2006 after beating Cardiff in the League Cup final at Wembley. In May that year, John W Henry made the controversial decision to to fire Kenny Dalglish but the appointment in 2015 of Jurgen Klopp got fans back on side and he nearly helped them win the Champions League last term.

However, despite their ambitious takeover, Liverpool's barren trophy spell has continued but fans believe this season could be their time to deliver silverware. 

John W Henry will be hoping Liverpool deliver silverware this season after a busy summer    +11
John W Henry will be hoping Liverpool deliver silverware this season after a busy summer

 
MANCHESTER CITY - SHEIK MANSOUR (£210M)

City's takeover back in 2008 proved to be the biggest game-changer in English football since Abramovich arrived in West London. After the Abu Dhabi United Group, backed by Sheik Mansour, completed their takeover for £210m, they vowed to create a lasting dynasty and they have done just that. 

There was natural scepticism from long-suffering supporters following the deal but the Abu Dhabi group were as good as their word and have delivered unprecedented success.

They immediately signed Brazilian star Robinho for £32.5m before making a host of mega-money moves since for the world's best players. Since their takeover, they have won three Premier League titles - record-breakers last season - one FA Cup, three League Cups and are the dominant team within English football.

Sheik Mansour's takeover at Manchester City proved to be a game-changer in Premier League    +11
Sheik Mansour's takeover at Manchester City proved to be a game-changer in Premier League

 
FULHAM - SHAHID KHAN (£200M)

Shahid Khan, a Pakistani-American billionaire businessman and philanthropist, brought Fulham for £200m five years ago and their journey looks set to begin now.

Fulham were relegated the season Khan - who is also owner of Jacksonville Jaguars and is eager to purchase Wembley to see an increase in the number of NFL games hosted in London - took over and his aim was to get them back into the Premier League.

And his ambition came true last season after seeing Fulham earn promotion from the Championship after a play-off victory against Aston Villa at Wembley. The Craven Cottage side brought in a host of fresh faces this summer, including Jean Michael Seri, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Calum Chambers, and the future looks bright.

Shahid Khan has seen Fulham earn promotion to the Premier League after buying the club    +11
Shahid Khan has seen Fulham earn promotion to the Premier League after buying the club

 
CHELSEA - ROMAN ABRAMOVICH (£140M)

The arrival of Abramovich at Stamford Bridge started a new era in the Premier League, with the influx of money becoming a massive factor in helping to decide where silverware would eventually end up.

The Russian billionaire businessman brought Chelsea for £140m off Ken Bates and led them to instant success. After finishing second in his first season in London, the silverware then started to pour in.

Since, the Blues have won one Champions League, five Premier Leagues, five FA Cups, three League Cups and one Europa League title. They may lack the stability to dominate for years to come in England but Abramovich put Chelsea firmly on the worldwide map.

Roman Abramovich's arrival at Chelsea spelled out a new era within English football    +11
Roman Abramovich's arrival at Chelsea spelled out a new era within English football

 
WEST HAM - DAVID SULLIVAN AND DAVID GOLD (£52.5M)

David Sullivan and David Gold completed their takeover of the Hammers in 2010 after selling Birmingham City to Carson Yeung.

Sullivan, when he brought the club, said West Ham was in a 'serious mess' and he was looking to leave Upton Park for the Olympic Stadium, which came reality in 2016. Despite staying true to his word, Sullivan and Gold have come under plenty of criticism from West Ham fans, with many directing their anger at the move from Upton Park to what they see as a soulless new stadium. 

And the success on the pitch hasn't been much better following promotion from the Championship in 2012. Other than a strong season in 2015-16, finishing seventh in the Premier League, West Ham have struggled and last campaign just steered clear of relegation.

David Sullivan and David Gold completed their takeover of the Hammers in 2010    +11
David Sullivan and David Gold completed their takeover of the Hammers in 2010

 
WOLVES - FOSUN INTERNATIONAL (£45M)

Wolves were taken over by Chinese group Fosun International in 2016 when the club were in the Championship.

Wolves were up for sale since 2015 but the arrival of the Chinese Group has brought success due to their links with the super-agent Jorge Mendes, who represents Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Molineux outfit have been fortunate enough to spend big and after easily earning promotion to the Premier League with 99 points, they brought in several star signings this summer, including Joao Moutinho and Adama Traore. They will be looking to push on now and become a regular team in the top flight.

Jeff Shi and Fosun International have had a huge impact at Wolves since 2016    +11
Jeff Shi and Fosun International have had a huge impact at Wolves since 2016

 
LEICESTER - THE SRIVADDHANAPRABHA FAMILY (£40M)

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the founder and CEO of King Power Duty Free, purchased Leicester in August 2010 for £40m following a three-year shirt sponsorship deal.

In 2011, he became chairman while his son, Aiyawatt, was named vice-chairman and three years later, Leicester were promoted to the Premier League. But what was to come next was the biggest shock in English football.

The Foxes remarkably went on to win the top flight title in 2015-16, 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal and subsequently qualified for the Champions League the season after, where they reached the quarter-finals. The owners have become very popular among the fans... no surprise there.

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha saw Leicester remarkably win the Premier League in 2016    +11
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha saw Leicester remarkably win the Premier League in 2016

 
BOURNEMOUTH - MAXIM DEMIN (£850,000)

Russian businessman Maxim Demin, who owned two UK-based companies before taking over at Bournemouth, was introduced to the club by former chairman Eddie Mitchell.

After buying out Mitchell completely in 2013 after becoming co-owner two years earlier, he has injected cash into Bournemouth to help make them a mainstay in the Premier League following promotios from League One and the Championship.

The 48-year-old is a silent owner though and is also known to be very superstitious. Because of this he rarely attends matches as he feels regularly turning up would jinx results.

Maxim Demin is a silent owner but has seen Bournemouth become a regular top flight team    +11
Maxim Demin is a silent owner but has seen Bournemouth become a regular top flight team

 
WATFORD - GINO POZZO (£500,000)

In June 2012, Gino Pozzo and his father took over at Watford for a bargain £500,000 from previous owner Laurence Bassini.

Three years after Pozzo's complete takeover, Vicarage Road outfit Watford were promoted to the Premier League and have stayed there ever since. 

Despite Watford staving off relegation in the last three seasons, the club still lack consistency on the managerial front and since Pozzo's takeover, they have had a staggering 10 managers in charge. 

Gino Pozzo completed his takeover at Vicarage Road for a bargain £500,000 in June 2012    +11
Gino Pozzo completed his takeover at Vicarage Road for a bargain £500,000 in June 2012

 

 

[Guest Markyblue]

40 million i wonder how much we would cost now.?

[StriderHiryu]

We are very fortunate to have the owners we do. You could be hyper critical and say they haven't invested mega bucks like Chelsea and Man City, but I far prefer our approach of building up the club over time and trying to have the club stand for something and give back to the city. We won the title with such a likable bunch of misfits it will always make me smile, and even now I really like how our team has lots of exciting young English players such as Madders, Chilly, Gray, Maguire, etc.

The Watford deal looks great, but I think they had to clear a lot of the club's existing debt as part of that deal? Similar stories with Leicester as the Thai's wrote off a ton of the debt we owed on the stadium. Still you can't knock their owners for buying the club and getting them back into the Premier League and staying there consistently.

The Bournemouth owner did really well all things considering. Though they need a lot of time and investment to go to the next level given their stadium is tiny by Premier League standards. I think Eddie Howe actually deserves massive credit because I'm not sure Bournemouth could be doing any better than they currently are given their size and resources.

[urban.spaceman]

21 minutes ago, Markyblue said:

40 million i wonder how much we would cost now.?

Weren't we called at £400m last year or so? Doubt they'd sell for less than a couple of billion. Probably wouldn't sell for any offer whatsoever. 

[surrifox]

Does Jimmy Two Times work for the Daily Mail? ( for Goodfellas aficionados)

[fuchsntf]

We don't need a World cup.....we already have a better scheme and platform in the PL...

Foreign ran organised teams,with its fair share of foreign players....full of gud ol' mixed English honest corruption.

Not that silly FIFA chaos,with open corruption,that Denies all known ethics.

 

Great innit........

 

 

 

 

[Spudulike]

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the founder and CEO of King Power Duty Free, purchased Leicester in August 2010 for £40m following a three-year shirt sponsorship deal.

Really ?? Did we really have King Power on our shirts in 2007 ??

[peach0000]

6 hours ago, Spudulike said:

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the founder and CEO of King Power Duty Free, purchased Leicester in August 2010 for £40m following a three-year shirt sponsorship deal.

Really ?? Did we really have King Power on our shirts in 2007 ??

Pretty sure it means they signed a 3 year shirt sponsor deal in 2010 then they bought the club on the back of it.

[Richard]

Would’ve thought a professional journalist would know the difference between bought and brought. 

[surrifox]

14 hours ago, Spudulike said:

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the founder and CEO of King Power Duty Free, purchased Leicester in August 2010 for £40m following a three-year shirt sponsorship deal.

Really ?? Did we really have King Power on our shirts in 2007 ??

No. KP shirt sponsorship was preceded by no sponsor for a season then Topps and before that Alliance & Leicester