In the Portuguese league, other than the Big 3, current
4th placed Braga and
5th placed Vitoria are owned/have minority investments from PSG & Aston Villa's owners respectively. 9th placed
Boavista share the same owner as Bordeaux.
10th placed Famalicao (whom we previously loaned Beck) have a Israeli billionaire owner who owns a stake in Atletico Madrid. 11th placed
Casa Pia are owned by the Platek family. 14th placed
Rio Ave got taken over by Nottingham Forest's owner a few months ago. 15th placed Portimonense, who were targeted by Boley,
rejected a £35m offer last year.
Unlike City Football Group or Todd Boley's ideas- where Man City and Chelsea are the clubs supplying/sending out players (both bought and from the academy) to the "smaller" sister clubs, I think the more feasible route is the Red Bull one - where's the clubs thrive in their own leagues and are no really "dependent" on the any other clubs within the network.
I think it will make more sense to buy a club that has potential to grow (factors incl. fan base, financial, infrastructure - esp. academy etc.) - a la how Bloom's takeover of Union SG awoke a sleeping giant (the third most successful club in Belgium languishing in lower leagues) or Red Bull transforming ex- SV Austria Salzburg from a midtable team to perennial title challengers or Ronaldo owned Cruzeiro's return to Brazilian top flight.
In this aspect, Santos FC who were relegated for the 1st time last year, in it's 111 year history, fits the bill. Maybe we can offer Beale, who had a coaching stint in Brazil with Sao Paulo, a job too.
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Dated 2022:
Brazilian football clubs open doors to foreign investors
Dated 2024:
Brazilian football: the next frontier in global sport?
The catalyst for change in Brazilian football was a 2021 law encouraging clubs to operate as businesses, instead of the traditional model of non-profit associations. Previously, only two top-flight clubs were run as companies.
By creating a novel corporate structure that enjoys favourable tax rates, the legislation has opened the door to investors.
Textor was one of the new entrants to Brazil. His company also owns Olympique Lyonnais, Belgian team RWD Molenbeek and a minority stake in south London side Crystal Palace. In Botafogo, he found a club with a rich history — Mané Garrincha, one of the stars of the Brazil sides that won the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, played for the team in its heyday — but which had fallen on hard times in recent years. The club won promotion from the second division in 2021.
Shortly before Textor agreed the deal for Botafogo,
former superstar and World Cup winner Ronaldo acquired a controlling stake in his boyhood club Cruzeiro.
Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners, which counts England’s Everton in its portfolio of teams, took a majority stake in Vasco da Gama in Rio.
Esporte Clube Bahia was bought by City Football Group, the Abu Dhabi-controlled owner of a dozen sides including Manchester City.
