Norwegian lottery winner buys share in a footballer

Semb Berge (L)

A Norwegian lottery winner used his money to buy 25% share of a footballer, after his local club Odd Grenland struggled to keep him at the club due to financial restraints.

The defender, Fredrik Semb Berge, is now partly owned by the lottery winner, Yngvar Borgesen, after the millionaire invested 2.5m crowns (£282,000) on the promising player.

“I sat and thought about what I could do locally, and the answer was Odd. They have a good profile and mean a lot for the local community,” Borgesen told the local newspaper.

The club are at the bottom of the league table, occupying 14th spot in Norway’s 16-team league. The club said that Borgesen would receive 25% of future transfer fee for Semb Berge. The 23-year-old defender, who recently made his debut for Norway in January against South Africa, said, “He’s (Borgesen) a very nice guy who thought it was good to help, so I think this is positive. It means that Odd can get more money for me and that they don’t have to sell me at any price.”

Source: Guardian