Who would buy a football club in 2024?

[@economicsofentertainment]

This is a nuanced topic and I think the desire to own a football club is varied. You tend to have 5 types of owners. 1) Sugar Daddy. The Roman Abramovich type, who has a lot of cash to burn and not much else to do with his money. This type of owner is seldom viewing the club as a viable business, morerather a vehicle through which it may be able to exert some type of influence 2) Private Equity style ownership which aims to drive profitability. This type of ownership tends to NOT care about the fans, despite purporting to. Also the objective is usually to sell the club to some other buyer in the future at a profit after extracting value from the club 3) The local boy/girl done good, who feels obliged to save a club from some sort of financial woe. This type of owner I think most fans have patience for 4) Associations run by fans who collectively own the club. They vote people into decision making positions to run the club on their behalf 5) State backed entities who may own football clubs as part of a wider non-football related strategy. Different clubs warrant different ownership styles. I do not think there is a one size fits all solution because everybody's starting position is different. Man United can withstand high amounts of debt and still operate, Burnley cannot. So both having Private Equity style ownership may not be sensible. I hear fans wishing for a rich sugar daddy all the time but the reality is that there are not enough rich sugar daddies prepared to buy all European football clubs. So saying more clubs should be like Newcastle, PSG and or Man City is not a real solution. Plus there are only so many super rich folks that have the patience to deal with footballing bureaucracy. Lastly, whilst associations seem like a good idea, this would be too difficult to introduce in the top flight of English football. In an ideal world, I think all clubs would be run like this, but as we are in an environment where some clubs are and others are not, in a bid to keep up with the Joneses even Socios can be run into the ground. Just look at the mess at Barcelona. I would not want to own a club, now way.

[@emilinegao613]

What a dumb take

[@economicsofentertainment]

@@emilinegao613 lol

[@pushyoch.8252]

​@@emilinegao613hard to have an association-run fc to be world class, if what you have in mind is sth like what the lower league club has. RMA & FCB is more like an oligarchy/a private club for the rich.

[@kicka11]

Love Matt slater. Calm, not into hyperbole and not biased.

[@kenp291]

As I get older I'm becoming more fascinated of these types of off-the-pitch stories than the tedium/predictability of the pundit-fan "analysis". Also, good on Adam Crafton for crediting the value of the team based, 'start up journalists' 👍

[@TheDevilishFiend]

Really interesting chaps. Good work.

[@Kbandz313]

I’d buy a USL club and build up a stadium/entertainment area around it. The team might not make much money but everything else should.

[@edmann1820]

What is the USL?

[@AmazinJ89]

Just out of curiosity, why is the Ipswich news such good news. What do the fans get out of a pension fund selling a percentage of the club a few years later dor their own profit. If they get promoted id be interested to see how they approach it.

[@callumbroxton]

Would it be possible to mute mics of the people not talking? Lots of humming/typing sounds when listening on AirPods

[@mnb9162]

Very unique business.... The motives are 95% not money motivated.... 1000 better ways to make money....

[@AlanBrownPhotography]

No-one in their right mind would invest in a business they are not allowed to invest in to make competitive. With the current FFP restrictions potential owners of those outside those protected at the top (by FFP) will look elsewhere. With current rules I can see the premiership cementing the fact that there is a 'rich six' that are able to compete each year and all others who are forced to play with one financial hand tied behind their backs.

[@TobiMesh]

Especially with government involvement now via the whole regulator bill

[@jgmediting7770]

You can invest in a business under ffp.

[@edmann1820]

Aston Villa and Brighton would disagree. Everton would agree.

[@ekamroopsinghchaggar6112]

Let’s just let everyone spend what they want and nobody will be able to compete with Newcastle

[@AlanBrownPhotography]

I don't think that is the answer, but why shouldn't clubs like Newcastle and Villa be allowed to invest (within owner's means) to bring their squads up to similar levels as others?@@ekamroopsinghchaggar6112

[@richardwillford2418]

American sports clubs are strictly businesses - big businesses - within the entertainment industry, run by sharp and professional business people. English (and European) football sits at the crossroads of elite sports, business and culture, and is still to a large degree run by rather unprofessional football enthusiasts. It's somehow still the wild west. Tellingly, England's first foray into football-as-business-ownership was when Man Utd was "bought" by the Glazers. They must have been shocked - in a positive way - over the sheer naivety and incompetence within English football and thought "This is like stealing candy from a baby!"

[@ErinStephanie-mf2qk]

The professional club game, at the top, is broken beyond repair. If your league needs petro state billionaires to make your league competitive, then something has gone wrong. Younger generations can see that all leagues are broken, and worse unaffordable - at the stadiums, or streaming. And that is why the fan profile of high level club football, is ageing. FFP doesn’t work. But nor does flooding the game with private equity firms and sheikhs. They’ve told Boomers and GenXers: you can have your Premier League and Champions Leagues, even your EFLs. We’re getting our fix of football, down the pyramid. Where it’s cheaper, more accessible, more passionate, more fun.

[@jadmantoura4483]

Forgive my ignorance, but surely being wanted by Interpol would be known by the people who need to know these things? How did this (pun intended) fraud even get past the first stage of whatever interview/checking process was in place?

[@faheem_786]

Has anyone ever told Matt Slater that he sounds a lot like Tim Vickery the South American football expert?

[@AdamRafeedie]

I'd buy an mls club but Europe is too risky

[@kicka11]

No relegation, it’s a walled garden.

[@andrewwilson5722]

Why wouldn't you want to buy one. They put there money in and gamble that they will make the club bigger then sell it. If you fail you leave and take your money back. It a joke

[@scottfawcus-z2i]

Adam crafton clearly falls asleep at the end

[@amphiphil844]

Every story shows how ridiculous sports "journalism" is. First they put out the story, then they wait for some random fan on twitter to correct them.

[@jgmediting7770]

The fans.

[@SamS-uv2ql]

"Football clubs are a cash business". I hope this person isnt being paid. Only a very small percentage of their income will be cash based. How did no one pick this up?