English football agent Scott Michaels says that European football leagues hold some of the most undervalued business opportunities for investors across Asia. Consultant Scott Michaels counsels football club owners on behalf of his advisor company, Football People. This international football agent says there has been an increasing amount of investment companies taking interest in buying clubs from some of his European clients.
Scott told us,
"Since the influx of Asian club owners (not including Chinese) have taken over UK football clubs, including Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (UAE), Vincent Tan (Malaysia), Peter Lim (Singapore), Tony Fernandes (Malaysia), Nasser Al-Khelaifi (Qatar), Abdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Saudi), Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah Al Ahmed Al Thani (Qatar), more Asian investors are looking at similar opportunities within the UK and Europe, especially after major Chinese owned exits are expected, a result of the Chinese government reigning in their big international spenders.
Since Chinese owners are under pressure to withdraw from European football in order to return big finance to the Chinese economy, the disruption has created new opportunities for new investors who aren't controlled by the same political powers. European football clubs are now getting more interest from Singapore, Malaysia and the UAE. Since many previous owners have been unwilling or unable to exploit club commercial opportunities,it has made buying a club outright, or even in part, fascinating for more finance companies. Some buyers are looking at linking second clubs to their existing network where lots of knowledge and pathways can be shared. Others are
just looking as first time buyers wanting to join the world of football. More critically, the TV rights deals across the Premier League and the bigger European clubs are proving to be a common point of attraction.
Clubs in England and Europe have a great history and these football clubs are considered cheap in comparison to some of the monetized sports franchises we see over in the US. To create real club history costs time and money. Until we see that full potential has been maximized, we expect takeovers from Asia to rapidly increase over the next two to five years."
Whilst the UK distances itself from Europe post-Brexit, the bond between the US and the UK is also growing stronger. It has also been anticipated that money, which was once coming into the UK from European deals, will be replaced with finance from not only Asia but also America, so that's where opportunities lie for investors in the US.
"Culturally the UK and the US already share their similarities and if Asian investors aren't first to the table, they could miss the boat. Whilst dealing with club sales, I've also personally traded with many international partners on behalf of my own British footballer fashion and style brands, Stylo Matchmakers soccer cleats and Hairbond United
Kingdom hair styling products. Because of this, I have experienced first hand interest in British clubs, culture, and UK brands. Whilst investors do their homework on the UK opportunities I present, I am now back on English soil, equipped with a turn key solution for the buying process in order to help them."
As well as offering the services to acquire a new club, Scott Michaels on behalf of Football People, also offers assistance in asset and player management due to his wealth of connectivity in the game.
