Famous football club owners

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As a football fan, you want the focus to be on the team (and manager), not the board.

But sometimes, an owner is just too famous to stay out of the limelight – whether they've made their fortune playing the beautiful game or in another area altogether.

Here, FourFourTwo takes you through some major stars of the world of football club ownership.

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32. The Winkelvoss twins (Real Bedford)

Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss famously sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, claiming he had copied their idea – but they’ve still done alright for themselves, becoming billionaires.

In 2024, the twin brothers – who competed in rowing for the USA at the 2008 Olympics – invested in English ninth-tier outfit Real Bedford, who owner Peter McCormack audaciously said he wanted to take to the Premier League.

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31. Eden Hazard & Demba Ba (San Diego 1904)

Eden Hazard and Demba Ba were briefly teammates at Chelsea, and they got together once more to found San Diego 1904 in 2016 (while both still playing).

Unfortunately, the Californian franchise lasted just five years, after which it was taken over by another club from the city, Albion San Diego.

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30. Olly Murs (Coggeshall Town)

A non-League footballer either side of finishing as runner-up on the 2009 edition of The X-Factor, Olly Murs invested in Essex side Coggeshall Town after playing for them.

The ‘Troublemaker’ and ‘Dance with Me Tonight’ singer co-owned Coggeshall for six years, before stepping down in 2022 to focus on his music career.

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29. Jade Thirlwall (South Shields)

Her two Little Mix bandmates have both been romantically involved with Premier League footballers, and Jade Thirlwall associated herself with the beautiful game by becoming a shareholder in local club South Shields in 2020.

And her presence seemed to help: within three years, South Shields were promoted to the National League North, English football’s sixth tier.

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28. Hector Bellerin (Forest Green Rovers)

Well-known for his environmentalism, former Arsenal Hector Bellerin become the second-largest shareholder in Forest Green Rovers – recognised by the UN as the world’s first carbon-neutral football club – in 2020.

“I’ll be helping where I can, supporting people who want to change the world for the better,” the Spaniard said upon putting his money into the Gloucestershire outfit, then of League Two.

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27. Cesar Azpilicueta (Hashtag United)

Another Spanish full-back who played in the Premier League and got involved behind the scenes lower down the pyramid, Cesar Azpilicueta joined the board of non-League Hashtag United in 2018 – at which time he was captaining Chelsea.

The Essex-based club, who have cultivated a huge online following through their YouTube channel, won the Eastern Counties League Division One South title following Azpilicueta’s arrival, continuing their steady rise up the leagues.

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26. J.J. Watt (Burnley)

A superstar of the ‘other’ football, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt took his first steps into the English game by becoming a minority investor at Burnley in 2023.

The Clarets had just secured promotion back to the Premier League under Vincent Kompany, joining the club Watt supports: Chelsea.

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25. Russell Wilson, Ciara & Macklemore (Seattle Sounders)

One of America’s power couples, Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, Grammy-winning R&B artist Ciara, bought a stake in the city’s MLS franchise, the Seattle Sounders, in 2019 – with the club winning the title that year.

The pair were joined in the Sounders’ ownership group by superstar rapper and Seattle native Macklemore.

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24. Mohamed Al-Fayed (Fulham)

Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed bought Fulham in 1997 and oversaw their rise from the fourth tier of English football to the Premier League in the space of just five years.

Long-time owner of iconic London department store Harrods, Al-Fayed was quite an eccentric character – as evidenced the gaudy statue of Michael Jackson unveiled at Craven Cottage in 2011 (the ‘King of Pop’ had attended a Fulham game against Wigan Athletic some 13 years earlier…).

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23. Eva Longoria, Kate Upton, Mesut Ozil et al (Necaxa)

It’s an unlikely combination, but Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, supermodel Kate Upton, and ex-Arsenal and Germany playmaker Mesut Ozil teamed up to buy a 50% stake in Mexican club Necaxa in 2021.

Based in the central city of Aguascalientes, Necaxa also welcomed former pro basketball and baseball players Shawn Marion and Justin Verlander as co-owners.

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22. Diplo, Pete Wentz & Didier Drogba (Phoenix Rising)

What did superstar DJ Diplo, Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz have in common? Presumably not all that much until they put money into Phoenix Rising.

Drogba actually finished his career at the club – who ply their trade in the USL Championship, the second tier of soccer in the USA.

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21. Patrick Mahomes

One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Kansas City Chiefs icon and multiple Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes got involved with the real football as a co-owner of women’s club Kansas City Current.

Mahomes invested alongside his wife Brittany – a former professional footballer who played in the USA and Iceland.

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20. Mindy Kaling (Swansea City)

Known for her roles in the American version of The Office and her part-biographical sitcom The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling bought a 1% share in Swansea City.

One of 27 members of a consortium which took over the Welsh club in 2017, Kaling said she was inspired to invest by talk show queen Oprah Winfrey (a secret Swansea fan, perhaps?).

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19. Matthew McConaughey (Austin FC)

He’s starred in films as varied as Magic Mike and The Wolf of Wall Street, and Matthew McConaughey went from cinema to soccer in 2019, becoming a minority owner of Austin FC in his native Texas.

And he certainly took a hands-on approach to the role, hyping up the crowd by drumming on the pitch ahead of the first game at Austin’s new stadium in 2021.

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18. Delia Smith (Norwich City)

“Where are you? Where are you? Let’s be havin’ you!”

As Norwich City fought against relegation in the 2004/05 season, Delia Smith delivered one of the great Premier League moments as she took to the pitch with microphone in hand to rally the crowd at Carrow Road.

A long-time shareholder at the Norfolk club alongside her husband Michael Wynn-Jones, the well-known TV cook ran the Canaries’ catering operation for many years.

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17. Gerard Pique (FC Andorra)

Among the best defenders of the 21st century, Gerard Pique won it all with Barcelona and Spain – and he later turned his attention to achieving success with FC Andorra.

Within three-and-a-half years of Pique’s takeover, the club from the Pyrenean microstate had risen from the lower reaches of the Spanish football pyramid to the Segunda Division – one tier below LaLiga.

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16. Paolo Maldini (Miami FC)

Another all-time defensive great, AC Milan and Italy legend Paolo Maldini was always going to stay involved in football following his retirement.

Prior to serving as Milan’s technical director, the five-time Champions League winner, ‘Il Capitano’ became a co-owner of USL Championship club Miami FC alongside Italian businessman Riccardo Silva.

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15. Michael B. Jordan (Bournemouth)

Voted ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ by People magazine in 2020, actor Michael B. Jordan was unveiled as a co-owner of Premier League Bournemouth midway through the 2022/23 season.

The Black Panther invested in the Dorset club as part of a consortium led by American billionaire Bill Foley which later bought a stake in Ligue 1 outfit Lorient.

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14. Project 92 (Salford City)

Comprising Singaporean tycoon Peter Lim and six members of Manchester United’s ‘Class of ‘92’ (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes), Project 92 took over Salford City while they were still playing in the Northern Premier League.

With the help of their big-name owners’ considerable investment, Salford rapidly climbed the pyramid, earning promotion to the EFL for the very first time in 2019.

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13. Reese Witherspoon & Derrick Henry (Nashville SC)

One of the newer MLS franchises, Nashville SC (which simply stands for ‘Soccer Club’, FWIW) welcomed two big-name new investors in 2022.

Joining Legally Blonde and Big Little Lies star Reese Witherspoon – the highest-earning actress of 2021 – was Derrick Henry, star running back for local NFL team the Tennessee Titans.

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12. Alan Sugar & Terry Venables (Tottenham)

In 1991, Alan Sugar teamed up with Terry Venables to buy Tottenham, the club he had supported all his life. He remained chairman for a decade and sold his remaining stake in 2007.

Later on, Sugar would fire hapless candidates on The Apprentice – but back in 1992, he sacked Venables, sparking outrage among Spurs fans which never really went away as he took a thoroughly businesslike approach to running the club.

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11. Silvio Berlusconi (AC Milan & Monza)

A media mogul who served four terms as prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi owned AC Milan from 1986 to 2017 – a period during which the Rossoneri were crowned champions of Europe on five occasions.

Never far from controversy, the colourful Berlusconi gained particular notoriety for his ‘bunga bunga’ sex parties.

He sold Milan in 2017 and took over at nearby Monza the following year.

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10. Stormzy & Wilfried Zaha (AFC Croydon Athletic)

Brit-winning grime megastar Stormzy was born in Croydon, and Crystal Palace legend Wilfried Zaha moved there at the age of four, so it was something of a match made in heaven when they took over at local non-Leaguers AFC Croydon Athletic in 2023.

“May the journey begin,” Zaha proclaimed upon the announcement. The journey to where exactly? Well, Croydon were plying their trade in English football’s ninth tier at the time.

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9. Will Ferrell (LAFC)

Lead funnyman in Anchorman, Elf and Step Brothers, Will Ferrell injected a big dose of Hollywood humour into MLS when bought stake in LAFC in 2019, becoming one of numerous investors including NBA legend Magic Johnson.

And just three years later, LAFC – the club where Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini chose to wind down their careers – were celebrating their first title.

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8. Tom Brady (Birmingham City)

One of the biggest stars in all of sport, seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady swapped an egg-shaped ball for a spherical one by becoming a minority owner at Birmingham City in 2023.

Serenaded by supporters at a local pub soon after his arrival, Brady found himself less popular as Birmingham sacked manager John Eustace despite sitting pretty in the Championship play-offs (Wayne Rooney came in and the Blues proceeded to tumble down the table…).

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7. LeBron James (Liverpool)

NBA icon LeBron James is one of Liverpool’s most prominent celebrity fans, and he got even closer to the Reds when he acquired shares at Anfield back in 2011 – shortly after John Henry’s FSG had bought the Premier League giants.

The LA Lakers star didn’t stop there, though: in 2022, he became a part-owner of another of Europe’s most storied clubs, AC Milan.

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6. Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, Eva Longoria et al (Angel City)

Formed in 2020, National Women’s Soccer League franchise Angel City have boasted a string of big-name owners.

Among them are Star Wars star and Oscar winner Natalie Portman, tennis great Serena Williams, and Eva Longoria – who, as we’ve seen, would later add Necaxa of Mexico to her football ownership portfolio.

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5. Ronaldo (Real Valladolid)

Undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo spent the best years of his career in Spain, tearing it up for both Barcelona and Real Madrid.

And it’s there that the 2002 World Cup-winning Brazilian entered the world of ownership, becoming owner and president of Real Valladolid in 2018 as the club returned to LaLiga.

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4. David Beckham (Inter Miami)

Arguably the most recognisable football figure of the 21st century (certainly in England), David Beckham had already made his park on MLS by helping the LA Galaxy to successive titles in the early 2010s.

His contract contained the option to buy an expansion team – which he duly took up in 2014, leading the group involved in setting up Inter Miami, who joined MLS in 2020 and signed a certain Lionel Messi three years later.

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3. Drake (AC Milan)

One of the very biggest names in the world of music, Drake joined LeBron James as an investor at AC Milan in October 2022.

Around the same time, the Canadian rap icon’s OVO owl logo adorned the shirts of Barcelona for El Clasico as part of their sponsorship deal with Spotify.

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2. Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney (Wrexham)

Having spent well over a decade trying to make it back to the EFL, Wrexham were rather on their knees when Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney took over in November 2020.

Just under three years (and a hit Disney+ series) later, though, the famous Welsh club returned to League Two as National League champions. The Hollywood duo have been heavily involved in the local community, too, helping breathe new life into the former mining town.

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1. Elton John (Watford)

He’s one of the biggest-selling musicians of all time, but Elton John really lived the dream as chairman of Watford, the club he had supported since he was a boy.

The ‘Rocket Man’ and ‘Candle in the Wind’ singer bought the Hornets in 1976, appointed Graham Taylor as manager, and oversaw their rise from the fourth tier of English football to the top flight in the space of just five years.