by The word ‘timeshare’ torments fans of the beautiful game. More and more sheikhs, businessmen, millionaires or groups of investors have control of two or more football teams. In some cases they control up to 13, from different leagues, countries and continents.
UEFA’s ‘The European Club Footballing Landscape’ denounces that timeshare ““could represent a real threat to the integrity of European club competitions.”. Not only in case you face two teams of the same ownership on the field of play, something that already happened in 2018 in a Europa League match between RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg, although UEFA prohibits these clashes. Also for all the signings and transfers that can occur between these clubs that share an owner..
A recent example of this is that of Savinho. Troyes, a team owned by the City Group, bought him in the summer of 2022 for 6.5 million euros from Atlético Mineiro. He then moved to PSV Eindhoven and this summer he did the same with Girona (also part of the City Group). Starting July 1, and without having debuted for Troyes, the Brazilian will be the most powerful player under the umbrella of the City Group, Manchester City. An achievement of movements that worries many in the elite of the beautiful sport. However, the universe of timeshares goes far beyond the City Group.
CITY GROUP
If we talk about timeshare in football, the City Football Group Limited He is the king of kings. It all started in the summer of 2008 with a purchase that would change the course of the Premier League: that of city of manchester. Before the existence of City Football Group Limitedwas founded Abu Dhabi United Group to facilitate said purchase.
At that time, the sheikh Mansur bin Zayed Al Nahyandeputy prime minister and member of the family that rules the United Arab Emirates, I was looking to buy the whole first division which belonged to the former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra. He achieved it, and made Manchester City an unstoppable team in England (seven leagues won) and that managed to achieve European glory in the 2022/23 season.
All City Group teams / SPORT
Then, in May 2013, City Football Group Limited was born, which takes its name from its great flagship, Manchester City. It is a holding company that manages football clubs. To be exact, 13. Sheikh Mansour is the one in charge of an organization that has Chinese and American investors and has a presence all over the planet.
- Manchester City (England)
- New York, USA)
- City of Melbourne (Australia)
- Yokohama Marinos (Japan)
- Torque City of Montevideo (Uruguay)
- Girona (Spain)
- Sichuan Jiuniu (China)
- City of Bombay (India)
- Lommel SK (Belgium)
- Troyes AC (France)
- Club Bolívar (Bolivia) – Associated club*
- Palermo FC (Italy)
- Bahia (Brazil)
RED BULL
If the City Group is recognized worldwide, the empire of Red Bull It is not exactly in the shadows either. The leading energy drink brand on the market, founded by the Austrian businessman. Dietrich Mateschitz and the thai Chaleo YoovidhyaHe has always been linked to extreme sports and Formula 1. However, in 2005 he decided to start his adventure in football with the purchase of the Austrian club. SV Austria Salzburgrenamed to Red Bull Salzburg.
Afterwards, they took control of the MetroStars (current) new york red bulls. In 2007 they jumped to Brazil with the Red Bull Bragantino and in 2009 they bought the SSV Markranstadt of Leipzig, their best team at present, the RB Leipzig.
Leipzig, Red Bull’s most important team /EFE
They started in the German Fifth Division and today compete in the Bundesliga, the highest category of German football, being one of the best teams in the country along with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. With Oliver Mintzlaff as global director of football since 2014 of the Red Bull empireThey are the great enemy of Germany because of how well the project is going.
Furthermore, in Europe, they are not seen favorably because of the systematic ‘exchange’ of footballers that they do between their teams. Being one of the groups that attracts the most talent. Haaland, Mané, Sesko, Szoboszlai, Kimmich, Nkunku, Keïta, Konatéare some examples, among many others.
- Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
- New York Red Bull (United States)
- Red Bull Bragantino (Brazil)
- RB Leipzig (Germany)
777 PARTNERS
777 members is an American private investment company based in Miami that was founded in 2015 and has acquired several soccer teams over the years. However, The company was born specialized in sectors such as insurance, aviation (it has two airline companies, Flair Airlines in Canada and Bonza in Australia) and media and entertainment. He also owns the London Lions Basketball Team.
Scam Steven Pasko and Josh Wander As founders, they took their first steps in the world of football with the purchase of a small part of Sevilla in 2018 (currently a percentage close to 8%). Then, little by little, they put their claws into Serie A, with the almost total purchase of Génoa (they are the majority shareholder), Brazil, Belgium, France, Germany and England.
Everton, the latest acquisition of 777 Partners /EFE
An irruption to say the least accelerated in the world of football and that has a very clear method. 777 Partners buys clubs, with a considerable social mass, at a bargain price. The North American holding company taking advantage of complicated situations to become the largest shareholder at a good price.
- Seville (Spain) – Minority shareholder*
- Genoa (Italy)
- Vasco da Gama (Brazil)
- Standard of Liège (Belgium)
- Red Star (France)
- Hertha Berlin (Germany)
- Everton (England)
POZZO FAMILY
One of the great ‘capos’ of football in Europe is Giampaolo Pozzo. At 81 years old, he is the oldest owner of Calcio, with the Udinese like his great team, which he joined in 1986. He amassed a good fortune with a family business dedicated to the production of industrial tools, Freud, which he sold in 2008, and in 2009 he went for Granada.
In 2016 he left the club, but he already had Watford in his possession, a team he acquired in 2012. The objective of the Pozzo family in these clubs has always been the same: sign young players at low cost, train them and sell them at a higher price. Basically, using football as another business..
There are many players who have left these clubs, especially Udinese, without the intention of developing a career there: Alexis Sánchez, Juan Cuadrado, Samir Handanovic, Mehdi Benatia, Piotr Zielinski, Luis Muriel, Bruno Fernandes, Duván Zapata, Rodrigo De Paul, Nahuel Molina, are some of the many examples. In addition, there have also been curious transfers and sales between clubs they own. A good example is that of Gerard Deulofeu, among others.
The Pozzos joined Udinese in 1986 /EFE
All of this has led them to have certain problems with the law. In April 2016, the Pozzo family was investigated by the Udine Tax Police to check if they had committed tax crimes with the movement of 12 million euros between companies in Italy, England and Spain. The authorities considered that they had issued false invoices to appropriate the income from the image rights of some footballers and collect transfer fees.
- Udinese (Italy)
- Watford (England)
The City Group, Red Bull, 777 Partners or the ‘Empire Pozzo’ are just four examples of timeshare ownership in football. They are also RedBird Capital Partners (AC Milan, Toulouse and Malaga), Sports investments in Qatar (PSG and Sporting de Braga) or Eagle Soccer Participations (Crystal Palace, Olympique Lyonnais, Molenbeek and Botafogo), among many others. Without a doubt, a rising trend that endangers the great essence of the beautiful sport: that of competing on equal terms..
