It is a trend that a few months ago was described by Uefa’s European Club Footballing Landscape report as “being fuelled predominantly by United States-based investors” and having “the potential to pose a material threat to the integrity of European club competitions”. Yet Aleksander Ceferin’s admission that European football’s governing body is considering a rule change after Manchester United’s takeover talks raised issues around potential conflict of interests seemed to indicate it is a threat Ceferin feels the game must embrace.
Uefa’s report published in February estimated that 6,500 players from 195 clubs – a 75% increase in less than three years – were employed by 27 multi-club investment groups, a third of which are based in the US. It is too early to say whether this is a passing fad, but John Textor – whose Eagle Football Holdings has shares in Lyon, Crystal Palace, the Brazilian side Botafogo and the Belgian club RWD Molenbeek – believes the model is here to stay.
