The Textor era at Olympique Lyonnais is over. But the financial wreckage it leaves behind is just getting started. When John Textor walked into the Groupama Stadium in December 2022 as Lyon’s new owner, he did so with an €884…
Apollo, one of the world’s largest investment firms, just published a report that should change how every club owner, fan, and investor thinks about the business of sports. The investment firm believes there’s a $2.5 trillion investment opportunity in sports…
The giants of the Ruhr are no longer fighting for the Meisterschale; they are fighting the compounding interest of a €147.9 million debt pile that threatens their very foundation. Schalke 04, a club with a massive 190,000-member base and world-class…
In a surprising and ambitious move that blends finance, crypto, and sport, Tether (a company behind the world’s most traded stablecoin, USDT, which follows the value of the US dollar) made an unsolicited offer to acquire Juventus FC for €1.1…
For 123 years, Real Madrid has been the property of its people. No sheikhs, no venture capitalists, no oligarchs—just 98,000 socios holding the keys to the biggest football club on earth. But if the latest murmurs from the Santiago Bernabéu…
Cádiz CF has moved in a direction that very few mid-tier European clubs have attempted. Instead of relying on traditional financing through player sales, bank loans, or shareholder injections, the club has created a U.S. corporate vehicle, Nomadar Corp., and…
Spanish football has entered a new era — one written in the language of private equity. Apollo Global Management has reached an agreement to acquire a 55% controlling stake in Club Atlético de Madrid, valuing the club at approximately €2.5…
When John Textor bought Olympique Lyonnais in 2022, he promised to build a football empire. His company, Eagle Football Holdings, soon owned clubs across three continents: Lyon, Botafogo (Brazil), and RWD Molenbeek (Belgium) — with a minority stake in Crystal…
A year after being seized by its main creditor Oaktree Capital, Inter Milan has begun to look less like a distressed asset and more like a financial project in transition. The Nerazzurri may have lost the last Champions League final…
The Traditional Business of Football: A Fragile Foundation For decades, football clubs mostly relied on three major sources of income: ticket sales on match days, broadcasting rights, and sponsorship deals. While these were enough to grow football into a global…