Upon hearing the announcement of a new professional soccer team in San Diego, you’d probably expect to see Landon Donovan and Don Garber chumming it up. Donovan has been a main force behind bringing a MLS franchise to San Diego over the past six months. However, it’s the NASL and a group of European-based stars, led by Eden Hazard, returning soccer to the beach city.
Two-time Europa League winner Parma Calcio 1913 sold to Jiang Lizhang on Wednesday, adding to the growing trend of Chinese businessmen buying European socer clubs.
The following first and second division teams in Europe are now all principally owned by Chinese investors.
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Every club that’s had an extended run in the Premier League is a perfect example for the transitive property (If a=b and b=c, then a=c) that affects modern football:
At last, Yonghong Li’s Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux has completed the purchase of AC Milan from Silvio Berlusconi’s Fininvest. The deal values AC Milan at 740 million euros, which includes the club’s debt of 220 million.
Soccer fans know that the outcome of a match doesn’t always reflect what transpired on the pitch. Talking heads have long debated whether a team was lucky to win or unlucky to lose, often with little substantial proof to argue against the scoreboard. The expected goals statistic (xG) has changed that, equipping soccer enthusiasts with a metric for “what should've happened.”
The drawn out sale of AC Milan has seemingly reached a breakthrough. Elliott Management, a United States-based hedge fund, has agreed to finance a large portion of the remaining capital owed to Silvio Berlusconi’s current ownership group Fininvest. Elliott has provided an essential assist to Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux (sharing AC Milan’s nickname but unrelated to the club), Chinese investor Yonghong Li’s investment vehicle leading the AC Milan purchase.
Last week it was revealed that, years ago, before the FSG era, billionaire computer person Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, was offered the chance to buy Liverpool. He never returned the phone call.
That left us wondering: what if he had, and then agreed to buy Liverpool, becoming the richest owner in any sport, with more money than even the richest Qatari sheikh?
It's unclear what Aston Villa chairman Dr. Tony Xia is a doctor of, but we think it might be math.
Xia, whose Twitter account is wildly entertaining and filled with optimistic projections for the future of his club (currently 13th in the Championship, but don't worry, Dr. Tony is on it), has been spouting off math problems in relation to the January transfer window lately.
Apparently January is the time of year to purchase a NWSL club, in case you had been considering it. Following Monday’s announcement that the Western New York Flash had been purchased and relocated to North Carolina, the league announced yet another club being sold. This time, the two-time NWSL champions FC Kansas City were getting a new owner.
The MLS recently announced the pricing for the next round of teams to enter the league. With plans to add four more teams in order to reach 28, cities across the US are racing for selection. Long considered a candidate for expansion, St. Louis fans will be frustrated to see comments from the new governor-elect that could push their city down the bid list.