Coming fairly all of the sudden (in case you’ll pardon the pun), it’s been introduced that NFL legend Tom Brady has transform a shareholder in Championship facet Birmingham City.
Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brady has entered a partnership with The Blues’ unused householders to become a minority stakeholder in the club.
Seven-time Tremendous Bowl champion Brady introduced his lengthy and phenomenally a hit NFL profession to an lead to February when the 46-year-old introduced his escape from the sport.
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“Birmingham City is an iconic club with so much history and passion, and to be part of the Blues is a real honour for me,” Brady mentioned, easily saying the membership’s identify like a neighborhood (“Birming-uhm“) as he did so.
“I’ve been part of some amazing teams in my day, and I’m looking forward to applying my perspective to create that same success here in Birmingham.”
Welcome to the Blues people, @TomBrady! 💙 pic.twitter.com/ppPyLc6Zsf
— Birmingham Town FC (@BCFC) August 3, 2023
Having up to now been owned by means of a Chinese language consortium, Town have been taken over in July by means of American businessman Tom Wagner and his US-based Shelby Firms Restricted.
In a welcoming observation, Wagner mentioned that Brady won’t best chair Birmingham’s unused advisory board but in addition have an immediate have an effect on at the membership’s males’s, ladies’s and academy groups in addition to their world advertising and marketing and industrial efforts.
And with that, Brady joins the ever-lengthening record of carrying superstars and superstar names who’ve taken possession stakes in football golf equipment.
If it is ex-footballers similar to David Beckham (Inter Miami CF), dominant athletes in alternative sports activities similar to Patrick Mahomes (Sporting KC), Kevin Durant (Philadelphia Union) and LeBron James (Liverpool), song icons from Elton John (previously the chairman of Watford) to Christina Aguilera (Angel City FC) or Hollywood stars together with Ryan Reynolds (Wrexham), Will Ferrell (LAFC) and Natalie Portman (Angel Town FC), membership possession is turning into an more and more interesting proposition to celebrities.
It could be a zeal for the game, a non-public connection, strictly trade or, frankly, simply because they may be able to, however we’re vision extra and celebs dipping their ft into soccer possession for all types of causes. In that vein, we checked out alternative celebrities who’ve possession stakes in soccer golf equipment world wide.
This newsletter has been up to date because it was once first printed June 16, 2020
NFL legend J.J. Watt and previous United States midfielder Kealia Watt introduced that that they had transform minority traders in Burnley in Would possibly 2023, in a while nearest the English membership had gained the second-tier Championship and with it tie promotion again to the Premier League. The pair attended some suits at Turf Moor as Vincent Kompany’s facet returned to the govern flying only a yr nearest being relegated, nevertheless it’s no longer simply the lads’s workforce that they’ve their vision on. Kealia Watt mentioned: “In the US, I’ve seen the NWSL grow into something really incredible, and we’d love to be a part of growing the women’s team here and be a part of their journey.”
Christina Aguilera (Angel Town FC)
In February 2022, Christina Aguilera changed into some of the contemporary high-profile additions to the star-studded possession crew at NWSL franchise Angel Town FC along Natalie Portman, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria, Serena Williams and lots of important former participants of the USWNT similar to Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm, Shannon Boxx and Julie Foudy.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos (Campobasso)
U.S. tv personalities Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos took the rather unorthodox choice to transform part-owners in a petite, lower-league Italian workforce previous this yr nearest buying stocks in Campobasso, who performed within the regionalised 5th tier, one rung under Serie D. Nicknamed “Lupi” (“Wolves”), Campobasso performed in Serie B all the way through the Eighties however have by no means since controlled to rescale the ones towering heights, going thru a number of collapses and reformations within the intervening time. Certainly, the membership have been stopped from taking part within the Italian league device altogether on the finish of the 2020-21 Serie C season because of “administrative irregularities. They then merged with another local side to re-enter the pyramid in the fifth tier. With Ripa and Consuelos on board, the Lupi immediately set about clawing their way back up the league and quickly sealed promotion to Serie D in 2022-23 after topping the table for the majority of the campaign.
Patrick Mahomes (Sporting KC and KC Current)
Tremendous Bowl Champion. NFL MVP. And now the most recent member of the @SportingKC possession crew!
Welcome, @PatrickMahomes, to @MLS! pic.twitter.com/02QhQKrAGs
— Don Garber (@thesoccerdon) July 27, 2021
Not content with merely being the Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback, Mahomes is also part of the ownership groups of his adopted city’s MLS and NWSL teams. Mahomes joined the ownership group of the Kansas City Royals baseball team in 2020, purchased a stake in SKC in 2021 and in January 2023 it was announced that he had become the first active NFL player to have equity in an NWSL club. “I’m grateful for the prospect to fix my spouse as a part of the Kansas Town Flow’s possession workforce,” the Super Bowl LIV winner said. “Brittany and the Longs have accomplished an out of this world activity development a world-class group. I’m excited to fix some other championship-caliber membership because it continues to build historical past.”
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney (Wrexham FC)
We’d like to welcome our new shirt sponsor, you may have heard of them 👀@TikTok_UK | @TikTok_US
🔴⚪ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/JgJs6QUj7H
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) June 30, 2021
Actors Reynolds and McElhenney joined forces to spearhead a surprise Hollywood takeover of Wrexham in November 2020, with the club sitting 14th in the fifth-tier National League. The 157-year-old Welsh club have been playing non-league football since 2008 when they last dropped out of the Football League, but that didn’t dissuade Reynolds and McElhenney from vowing to awake the “snoozing immense” and transform the Red Dragons into a “world drive.” Wrexham went on to finish eighth in 2020-21, missing out on the playoffs by a single point, some way short of their highest-ever league finish: 15th in the old Second Division (now the Championship) back in 1978-79. The duo have been having lots of fun in their new role as sports owners, and a Disney+ show about their adventures at The Racecourse Ground called “Welcome to Wrexham” has proved to be a huge success among fans.
Kevin Durant (Philadelphia Union)
NBA celebrity Kevin Durant introduced in June 2020 that he had purchased an ownership stake in Primary League Football’s Philadelphia Union. The Brooklyn Nets forward and former NBA MVP bought an initial 5% stake in the club with an option to purchase an additional 5% in the future. The move “just made sense” according to Durant, who twice previously made attempts to join the ownership group of D.C. United. “I’ve been partial to the game, and nearest vision how briskly the recognition of the league was once rising, vision extra enthusiasts pop up in several towns across the nation, and nearest vision how those franchises have an effect on town’s companies and public in my opinion was once very ingenious,” Durant advised ESPN in an unique interview on the era. Only a few months nearest Durant got here on board, the Union claimed the Supporters’ Safe because the first-place workforce in Primary League Football’s ordinary season.
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LeBron James (Liverpool)
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has won four NBA titles, four league and finals MVP awards and has been an All-Star 17 times, and also owns a minority stake in Premier League club Liverpool. The future Hall of Famer bought 2% of the Merseyside club in 2011, and has that investment paid off! In 2018, Business Insider reported that James’ $6.5m investment was worth $32m. Since then, Liverpool have won the Champions League and been crowned Premier League champions for the first time in 30 years, so suffice to say, James has over 32 million reasons to belt out “You’ll By no means Exit Unloved.”
Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson, Mia Hamm, Nomar Garciaparra (LAFC)
LAFC is preparing for its fifth season in MLS, but the Los Angeles new boys already have a real Hollywood feel to them. While the majority of the club is owned by local investors Brandon Beck, Larry Berg and Bennett Rosenthal, comedian Will Ferrell, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, ex-USWNT legend Mia Hamm and Hamm’s husband and former MLB All-Star Nomar Garciaparra all also own a stake in The Black and Gold. On the field, LAFC has been one of the league’s best and most exciting clubs since its inception, winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2019, while off it there have been plenty of laughs thanks to Ferrell. The former “Saturday Evening Are living” superstar — additionally a Chelsea supporter — marked the facet’s first-ever duel by means of undertaking an interview with ESPN as “Anchorman” character Ron Burgundy.
Durant’s former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden purchased a 5% stake in the Houston Dynamo in July 2019. The Dynamo, who also count former world champion boxer Oscar de la Hoya among their owners, missed the playoffs in Harden’s first season aboard but are valued at a lofty $475m. The club even made him feel at home by giving their entire roster “The Beard” treatment on the club’s official site.
BeardApp > FaceApp pic.twitter.com/JlOUbyoE84
— Houston Dynamo (@HoustonDynamo) July 19, 2019
Elton John (Watford)
An ever-present at Vicarage Road, the British pop icon has owned Watford on two separate occasions, first from 1976 to 1987 and later from 1997 to 2002. Still an honorary life president of the club, John regularly attends Watford home matches and even had a stand named after him in 2014. John’s first spell as chairman coincided with Watford rising from the fourth tier to the top flight, highlighted by a second-place finish in 1983 and an FA Cup final run in 1984. The artist’s hit “I’m Nonetheless Status” was named the Hornets’ official club anthem in 2019, while John’s son Zachary joined Watford’s Academy in 2018.
Drew Carey (Seattle Sounders)
The actor, comedian and game show host became one of the first American celebrities to get into soccer ownership when he bought a 7.5% stake in MLS expansion side Seattle Sounders in 2007. An avid Cleveland sports fan, Carey first became interested in soccer after visiting Spain and his love for the game has only blossomed from there. The “Whose Form Is It Anyway” and “The Value Is Proper” host’s involvement with the Sounders has been fruitful as Seattle has won two MLS Cups (2016, 2019) and emerged as one of MLS’ most valuable clubs. Carey is not an absentee owner, either, as he regularly attends home games and serves as the president of Sounders FC Alliance, the club’s official membership group.
Matthew McConaughey (Austin FC)
“All right, all right, all right.” The “Dazed and Confused,” “The Lincoln Lawyer” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” superstar purchased into his loved college city’s foray into soccer in 2019. Austin FC nearest joined MLS in 2021, making their league debut with a slightly underwhelming run of six instantly defeats. Arguably, the franchise had already scored their first main victory by means of managing to get McConaughey — the unofficial mayor of Austin — on board within the first position. Their first league issues got here courtesy of a powerful 4-1 drubbing of Portland Woods in early July. This was once nearest McConaughey had delivered a motivational drum performance prior to the former house recreation towards San Jose Earthquakes in scenes eerily related to his chest-thumping, rhythmic-humming, trance-like cameo in “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
The entirety Zlatan does turns out to build headlines, so it was once deny miracle that the brash striker’s announcement that he was once purchasing 25% of Swedish membership Hammarby in 2019 ruffled some feathers. A made of the Malmo formative years device, Ibrahimovic’s choice to put money into a rival membership like Hammarby was once categorized a “betrayal” in Malmo or even provoked Malmo supporters to vandalise and then topple a statue of the striker out of doors of the membership’s house field. Zlatan wasn’t too fazed by means of the backlash, calling the gang “kindergarten level.” Have in mind, this can be a guy who has in comparison himself to lions, Ferraris or even God!
Russell Wilson and Ciara (Seattle Sounders)
They love their sports activities and stars in Seattle, so it’s becoming that Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and spouse and Grammy award-winning singer Ciara joined the Seattle Sounders ownership group in 2019. At their unveiling as householders, the Professional Bowl QB referred to as football a “transformational sport” and added that the unifying energy and inclusiveness of the game performed a abundance section within the couple’s choice to become involved.
Actual Valladolid are a in lieu inconspicuous membership, having flip-flopped between Spain‘s Primera and Segunda Categories for far in their historical past. That didn’t deter Ronaldo. The Brazil legend, who gained two International Cups and two Ballon d’Ors all the way through his illustrious taking part in profession, bought a 51% share in the Spanish club in 2018 for €30m and now holds an 82% stake within the Blanquivioletas. Valladolid lasted 3 seasons in LaLiga prior to they have been relegated terminating season.
Diplo (Phoenix Emerging)
One of the crucial international’s maximum customery and a hit DJs, Diplo is some other superstar who has an actual affection for “The Beautiful Game.” The 3-time Grammy award winner purchased a stake in USL facet Phoenix Emerging in 2016 and makes up a star-studded possession crew that includes Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz and ex-MLB pitcher Brandon McCarthy. The membership nonetheless has designs on becoming a member of MLS, and up to now featured Diplo’s report label Insane Significance as a jersey sponsor.
Ex-NBA superstar Steve Nash’s love for soccer is well-documented, with the previous level defend a die-hard Tottenham Hotspur supporter and an occasional Champions League analyst. Born in South Africa, Nash comes from a football people. His brother Martin earned 38 caps for Canada, moment his sister Joann captained her faculty football workforce for 3 years. The previous Phoenix Suns superstar and two-time NBA MVP first purchased into his place of origin Whitecaps again in 2008 and nearest Spanish side Mallorca in 2016. Nash’s funding in Mallorca (he was once a part of a gaggle that bought a $21m stake) has proved a masterstroke as Mallorca has earned back-to-back promotions and this season are again in Los angeles Liga for the 1st era since 2013.
Magnificence of ’92: David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt (Salford Town)
The “Class of ’92” consisting of David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt rose to prominence in Manchester virtually 30 years in the past, successful a mixed 120 trophies at Worn Trafford beneath mythical boss Sir Alex Ferguson. In 2014, 5 of the six returned to the Manchester section to buy eighth-tier Salford Town, whose field is living simply 5 miles clear of the shining lighting of “The Theatre of Dreams.” Beckham joined his former teammates by means of additionally purchasing a ten% stake in 2019, and the membership has flourished since. Salford, thank you in large part to the monetary backing from the Magnificence of ’92, earned four promotions in five seasons to achieve the fourth tier (League Two) and the Soccer League for the 1st era ever. The membership unveiled a unused stadium in 2017 and are the topic of the docuseries “Class of ’92: Out of Their League,” which is to be had on Netflix. Beckham has additionally struck out on his personal, and he’s the president and co-owner of MLS membership Inter Miami.
