Highlights
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Football clubs often attract prominent owners such as Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran and others who have invested in various clubs.
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These celebrity owners bring their fame and influence to the clubs, helping to raise funds, gain global recognition and even contributing to success on the pitch.
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From music stars to actors, celebrities across industries have found a connection and passion for football, which has led to them taking on leadership roles in clubs around the world.
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With around 3.5 billion fans worldwide and 250 million players in 200 countries, football is the largest sport in the world. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that celebrities – even those with no obvious connection to the game – seem to get drawn into this world from time to time. Most recently, 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, as quoted in The Athletic, claimed that he would one day like to replace Floreinto Perez in the role of president of Real Madrid. He expressed his point of view on the Spanish channel Movistar and said:
“Well, if I want to [be president]? I think so. I think I want to be. But first of all, many things. First, there is nothing to say today because we have the best possible president. After that, I don’t know if what I might think now is what I might think tomorrow. And after that, life takes many turns. You have to know whether you are capable of it. I’m pretty realistic with myself, I more or less know my limits and I don’t know whether I would be capable of it (as president) or not. But time will tell.”
As already mentioned, if Nadal were to officially commit to Los Blancos, he would not be the first celebrity to take on a responsible role at a football club. With that in mind, here are eleven major stars who have a connection to the beautiful game.
11 Sir Elton John – Watford
In the 1970s, Sir Elton was one of the first global superstars to be present at a football club. In fact, the musician had been attending Watford’s games at Vicarage Road with his father since the age of five and used his fame to raise funds for the club by playing at the stadium in front of more than 30,000 spectators.
He later bought the club and became chairman and president in 1976. In doing so, he formed a formidable partnership with legendary manager Graham Taylor as the Hornets achieved promotion to the top flight of English football after once finishing at the bottom of the entire EFL. He is no longer the owner of the party, but remains honorary president for life.
10 Ed Sheeran – Ipswich Town
Sticking with red-headed musicians who are into English football clubs, next we have Sheeran, who has been one of the biggest pop stars in the world for over a decade. And since 2021, the singer has been sponsoring his youth team Ipswich Town.
In fact, his album designs have appeared on the front of the men’s and women’s first teams’ team jerseys for the past three seasons. In addition, he was also included in the official squad list for 2021-2022 and was even given the number 17 jersey.
9 Stormzy – AFC Croydon Athletic
Another big name in the music world, Stormzy has released three consecutive number one albums in the UK and is one of the biggest stars in the world alongside Sheeran. He is actually an avid Man United fan, but is invested in a team that is at a much lower level.
This summer, the grime artist joined forces with former Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha in a consortium (along with former Eagles supplier Danny Young) to take over non-league side AFC Croydon Athletic, which currently plays nine divisions below the Premier League. Everyone involved has strong ties to this part of London and hopes that the entire community will benefit from their property.
8th Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – Wrexham
Since Reynolds and McElhenney took over in 2021, Wrexham have gone from strength to strength and, thanks to the publicity gained from the documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, are now one of the best-known clubs in the game (at least to those who follow the sport). America).
The high-profile owners have already helped the club massively increase its global reputation, but have also achieved immediate success on the pitchThe Red Dragons gained promotion to League 2 last season, ending a 15-year spell outside the EFL.
7 LeBron James – Liverpool
The basketball star chose a pretty good time to invest in Liverpool when he became a partner in Liverpool in 2011. His connections to Fenway Sports Group (FSG) helped him secure a two percent stake in the Reds. In the years that followed, the English team enjoyed great success, winning the Champions League and the Premier League with James on board.
His share was initially around £4.9 million, but by 2018 this was worth up to £24 million (according to ESPN) and has continued to rise since then, largely thanks to on-field successes under current manager Jurgen Klopp
6 Delia Smith – Norwich City
Smith, who joined the club’s board in 1996 and became famous as a cookbook author, author and television personality, is Norwich City’s joint majority shareholder alongside her husband Michael Wynn Jones. She is best remembered at the club for her infamous outburst when she walked onto the pitch during half-time in a 3-2 home defeat to Manchester City in 2005.
To encourage the silent fans to make Carrow Road a little more intimidating for the opposition, she grabbed the microphone and shouted into the public address system: “This is a message to possibly the best fans in the world. We need a 12th man here.” . Where are you? Where are you? “Let’s have you!” Come on!” She later admitted that she regretted the incident.
5 Tom Brady – Birmingham City
This summer, the seven-time Super Bowl winner joined Birmingham City’s board as a minority owner. Brady retired from the NFL last February, giving him more time to pursue other interests. It is understood he will work closely with the club on global marketing efforts and identifying new opportunities for commercial partnerships, while aiming to make it a respected leader in nutrition, health, wellness and recreation in sport.
It is still too early to say whether he will really have a major impact on the club, but they have made a good start to life in the Championship and currently sit sixth in the division after six games. Maybe with some star power on board, they’ll be inspired to make a real push for advancement.
4 Robert Plant – Wolves
Led Zeppelin singer Plant has been vice president of the Wolves since 2009. He has supported the club since childhood and first attended a game when he was just five years old.
After following the club for 55 years, he was appointed on-field vice-president on 14 August 2009 during half-time of the club’s Premier League match against West Ham United at Molineux. At the time, he said he was both “flattered” and “ashamed” by the honor.
3 Michael B Jordan – AFC Bournemouth
The American actor – famous for Black Panther – is part of an ownership team that took charge of Bournemouth in December 2022. Jordan took part in investment from American businessman Bill Foley when a £120m takeover was completed late last year.
When he became a minority owner, he said, “We thought it through. A team that plays in the Premier League and is competitive, a great culture and the people there in Bournemouth. And a franchise that we thought we could add value to and try to help the team get over the hump. It’s cool. It’s a cool team. The players are extremely talented and good people.”
2 Natalie Portman – Angel City FC
Portman remains loyal to Hollywood, serving as co-founder and co-owner of NWSL team Angel City FC, which launched in 2020. She is one of many stars who helped get the club off the ground, including Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner, Uzo Aduba, Serena Williams, Billie Jean King and Jessica Chastain were all involved to varying degrees.
Christen Press, Sydney Leroux and Ali Riley are some big names in the current squad. In 2022, they officially entered the league and finished eighth in their debut season. As with Wrexham, a documentary film was made about the team called Angel City.
1 Will Ferrell – Los Angeles FC
The actor Ferrell, who is in Los Angeles for his last appearance, has been co-owner of the American club LAFC since 2016, whose first club played its first MLS game two years later. At the time, the comedian even joked, “I’ve never co-owned anything,” before correcting himself and adding, “I still co-own an ’84 Toyota Camry with my brother.”
In 2019, LAFC won its first major MLS trophy, the Supporters’ Shield. They later won the same award in 2022 and in the same year won the MLS Cup for the first time in their history after defeating Philadelphia Union on penalties after Gareth Bale scored the equalizer in the 128th minute.
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Prominent owners |
Association |
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Sir Elton John |
Watford |
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Ed Sheeran |
Ipswich town |
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Stormzy |
AFC Croydon Athletic |
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Ryan Reynolds |
Wrexham |
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Rob McElhenney |
Wrexham |
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Lebron James |
Liverpool |
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Delia Smith |
Norwich city |
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Tom Brady |
Birmingham city |
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Robert Plant |
Wolves |
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Michael B Jordan |
AFC Bournemouth |
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Natalie Portman |
Angel City FC |
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Will Ferrell |
LAFC |
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