Why An Indian Owner Of An Elite Football Club Could Be A Win-win

Mukesh Ambani is rumoured to be interested in buying Manchester United. The club is being put up for sale by its current owners, the US-based Glazers family. Indian billionaires are growing in might both on and off the field. Their combined wealth grew by 26 percent to $750 billion. They own cricket franchises in India and abroad, and many hold a stake in the homegrown Indian Super League (ISL). The number of major Chinese investors in European clubs has halved from 20 in 2017 to 10 in 2021. Many European football clubs are owned by Russian oligarchs and Chinese billionaires.

Liverpool and Manchester United are valued between £4-7 billion. Indian sports franchises don't own tangible assets. They are foraying into the burgeoning consumption market that is Asia. The valuation of an IPL team might be astronomical, but they don’t physically own anything. It”s a win-win for the clubs and the fans. Akshay Tandon, co-owner of FC Goa, an ISL club, believes it is a good idea to buy a football club in India. Pradhyum Reddy, CEO of Dempo FC, is an expert on Sports18 “‘The valuation is of astronomical proportions,

An Indian Football Club Owner Could Be A Win-win Situation. The first step is due diligence and building up a relationship with the local community. In India, fans are more attached to their clubs than in Europe. The Glazers family has a fractious relationship between Manchester United fans and the owners. Venky's bought Blackburn Rovers in 2010 and led them into relegation. Thai owners of Leicester City won the Premier League title in 2015-16. They have a modestly assembled squad and a wage bill of $100 million. Their approach saw them win the title.

An Indian billionaire could buy a European football club. Dempo FC feels it would be a good idea. Seagraves believes it will give Indian football the right kind of exposure to take off. In the 2019-20 season, ISL clubs are said to have spent Rs 1.4 crore on transfers. The numbers jumped to Rs 9.5 crore in the following season. In Europe, Neymar moved from FC Barcelona to PSG for €222 million. Indian clubs have only a few seasons of experience. They are catching up. An Indian owner of a foreign club can influence sharing of expertise with the European club, which creates a bridge for knowledge back to sport in India.