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Football clubs across Europe are spending huge bucks on signing players. Top players receive wages to the tune of €400,000 a week. The transfer fee that is charged has grown ridiculous than ever.
Before all this action took place many of the top clubs were close to shutting down and were on the verge of bankruptcy. The pumping of oil money in the form of these billionaires has breathed life into these clubs.
Here are 5 Top Clubs owned by the billionaires from Arabia and Asia:
#5 Hull City
Hull City was established in 1904, in Yorkshire, England. The club officially took part in the Second Division in 1905. In the beginning, Hull City didn’t have a stadium of their own; this led to much inconvenience for the club. The club played their first few football matches on a cricket ground, as they had no place of their own.
The club didn’t have much success in the Second Division. It was relegated to the Third Division in 1930. In the same year, the club managed to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, their greatest achievement till 2008.
The club was in a steep decline as they failed to win any silverware. They often found themselves relegated at the end of the season. The club was relegated to the Fourth Division in 1980. They faced a severe financial crisis and faced a collapse in the early 1980’s.
After decades of financial uncertainty and disappointment, the club finally made a comeback in 2001. Its performance in the Third Division improved drastically. The club management made positive change. They moved to their new stadium - KC Stadium in 2002 after spending 56 years at Boothferry Park.
The club was promoted to the Second Division in 2005. In its first season, the Tigers finished in the 18th place, their best finish in 16 years. Under manager Phil Brown, Hull City’s performance improved tremendously. For the first time in history, they were promoted to the Premier League in 2008. The club was relegated to the Second Division in 2010 after a string of disappointing performances.
The club brought in manager Steve Bruce in 2012. He successfully guided the club in earning their second promotion to the premier league in 2013. The club played in the FA Cup finals for the first time in 2014. They also qualified for the UEFA Europe League in the same season, their first European campaign ever. The club was relegated to the Second Division in the 2016-17 season.
In 2010 Egyptian businessman Assem Allam bought the club. Mr. Allam studied at the reputed University of Hull and he hoped that he could give back to the society through the club. He has promised to invest over £40 million in the club.
After his arrival, the club was promoted to the premier league in 2013. His style of management met with severe protests from the fans. His inability to sign new talent and his controversial decision to change the name of the club to Hull City Tigers has resulted in disaster. The fans were not happy with the name change and this led to a decreasing attendance.
The club’s relationship with its owner has been rocky. The team's performance has declined as the squad is often plagued by injuries and a lack of experienced players. By the end of 2017, Mr. Allam had announced that he would be willing to sell the club to potential buyers. The club's future looks gloomy as it hopes to find investments from new owners.
#4 Malaga CF
The club was started in the year 1904. It intended to be a sports society to encourage the new sport of football. The club often played against British sailors who frequented the city. After a brief interruption due to the Spanish civil war, the club was promoted to the La Liga in 1949.
In its early days, Malaga had a rocky period in the La Liga. It finished second in the league on multiple occasions but was also relegated a few times. The club regained its place in the top league in the early 1970’s. The next 5 years was the most successful period of the club. This period saw wins against prominent clubs such as Barcelona.
Although, the club had a good youth system in place its performances were never more than mediocre. This led to the gradual decline of the club. The club was facing financial uncertainty and was once again relegated to the second division in 2007. The club was desperately in need of investments.
Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family bought the club in 2010. The investments from Qatar led to the purchase of players such as Martín Demichelis and Júlio Baptista. The club improved its performance drastically, finishing 4th in the 2011-2012 season of the La Liga.
The club for the first time in its history took part in the champions league. The club had an impressive performance in the group stage winning all of their matches and even beating Italian giants AC Milan. The club almost reached the semi-finals, if not for a controversial referee decision.
After the exit of manager Manuel Pellegrini, the club's performance declined. The club has found itself in the middle of the league table. The best they could manage in the last 5 years was an 8th place finish, in the La Liga during the 2015-16 season. The club has produced talented players like Isco from its youth system but it has failed to win trophies.
In recent years the Sheikh seems to have backed off from the investment front. This has hurt the club's performance. The club hasn’t signed any significant talent in the last few seasons. The club needs his money now more than ever.
#3 Everton FC
The club was formed in 1878 in Liverpool, England. The club was among the founding members of the Football League in 1888. The club had a very successful start; they won their first league championship in 1890. They continued it by winning the FA Cup in 1906 and the League Championship in 1914 just before the First World War broke out.
After the league resumed Everton had lost its touch. The clubs performance entered a period of steep decline. The club was revived in the late 1920’s by the signing of center-forward Dixie Dean. Dean led the team to their 3rd League Cup by scoring 60 goals in 39 league games, a record that remains till today. The Blues continued to their successful run by winning their 5th League Championship in 1939. Their run came to an end as once again War broke out.
After the league resumed in 1946, the club once again entered a period of decline. The club was relegated to the second division and it never won a single trophy till 1960. In 1961 Harry Catterick was appointed as a manager. In his second season as manager, the team won the League Championships. Under his reign, the team saw multiple FA Cup victories and League Championships.
After his retirement, his successors failed to win any major silverware. After a decade of uninspiring performances, the club returned to its winning ways, when Howard Kendell was appointed as manager in 1981. Kendell led Everton to their most successful period. Under his leadership, Everton won the FA Cup in 1984. It won its only European Championship in 1985. The club won the League twice in 1984 and 1986.
The Blues have failed to achieve the same success till today. A period of shaky performances never saw it break into the top 4 again. The best performance the club could achieve in the last 30 years was a 5th place finish under David Moyes.
Iranian Billionaire Farhad Moshiri had recently bought a stake of 49.9% in Everton F.C. He previously held a stake in Arsenal which he had to sell in order buy shares at Everton. With a net worth of $2.6 Billion, Everton have found a perfect investor. Although their performance in the Premier League hasn’t shown much improvement, the club will definitely need his money in the days to come.
#2 Manchester City
The club started in 1884 as St. Marks but officially renamed itself to Manchester city in 1894. The club had a very successful start. They won the second division in 1899 and were qualified to play in the first division. The club won the FA Cup in 1904 becoming the first club from Manchester to win a major trophy. The club continued its impressive performance for the next few seasons.
The clubs fortunes soon changed as they found themselves relegated back to the second division and were accused of financial irregularities. The club suffered a major blow when a fire accident destroyed much of their stadium. The club soon moved to their new stadium at Maine Road in Moss Side.
The new stadium had a much higher capacity; it recorded an attendance of 84,569 in a match against Stoke City in 1934. This record stands to this day. The team soon found its morale boosted and delighted the fans with their amazing performance. It won the First Division title in 1937 and the FA Cups 1934 and 1956.
The club had its most successful period between 1968 and 1970 winning multiple trophies. The trophies included the FA Cup, League Cup and the European Championships. The 1980’s saw the club entering a gradual decline. For the first time in its history in 1998, it saw itself being relegated to the third tier of English football
In 2008 the club was bought by Abu Dhabi United Group. The group is owned by the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mansour. The inflow of money led to the signing of the biggest stars in the football world. The club was a synonym with big spending.
The money definitely has changed the fortunes of the club. Since the arrival of the sheik at the Etihad, they have won the Premier League twice. They are the favorites to win the league this season. This shows that money can definitely buy success.
#1 Paris Saint-Germain
Unlike the other clubs on this list, PSG doesn’t have a long history. The club was established in the year 1970. Although the club is quite young compared to others, it has achieved far more success than any other Ligue 1 side. It has won more than 34 trophies in its short history. It is one of the two French Clubs to ever win a European Trophy. The other team being Ligue 1 rivals Marseille.
The club was first owned by French fashion designer Daniel Hechter. After he was embroiled in a double ticketing scandal the ownership changed hands. Investment firms such as Butler Capital, Colony Northstar, and Morgan Stanley bought stakes in the club. The constant change of owners was hampering the clubs performance.
Things changed with the arrival of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman of Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) in 2011. The group bought the club for €80 million. Nasser Khelaifi arrival changed the clubs financial position. The club was in huge losses until his arrival.
The new owners from Qatar turned the club cash-rich overnight. The clubs first move was to by the best players in the world. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Cavani and David Luiz were all bought within a few months of their arrival. This led UEFA to punish the club with €60 million for violating Financial Fair Play.
The club surprised the world when it bought Brazilian Superstar Neymar for a staggering €222 million from Barcelona. The clubs attacking triad consisting of Neymar, Cavani and Mbappe are the most expensive forwards.
Qatar Sports Investments is essentially backed by the ruler of Qatar. The groups Chairman also heads the beIN Media Group. Nasser Khelaifi was voted as the most powerful man in French Football. He is also a Minister in the Qatari Government and has close ties to the Emir.
Since the arrival of QSi the clubs fortunes have literally changed. The club reports more than €500 million in revenue annually. It’s the 7th most valuable football club in the world. Its value has jumped from €80 million in 2011 to €1.5 billion in 2017.
PSG have spent a fortune on signing new players but it has failed to win the most coveted trophy in Europe- the UEFA Champions League. With the arrival of its latest signings, it hopes to win the trophy.
