Manchester United faced Fulham in the opening match of the 2024-25 Premier League season on Friday, securing a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford with a late goal from Joshua Zirkzee.
In a curious twist of scheduling, the owners of both teams will compete again on Saturday in the NFL, as the Glazer family’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on Shahid Khan’s Jacksonville Jaguars in a preseason game.
The Glazers and Khan are part of a group of nine American ownerships in Premier League clubs, with a full roster of games set for the weekend. Among them is newly promoted Ipswich Town, owned by American investment firms ORG, Bright Path Sports Partners, and Avenue Sports, all aiming to challenge Manchester City, which has dominated the EPL standings for the last four years.
The Championship division also features nine teams under American control, bolstered by Mark Attanasio’s recent increase in stake in Norwich City through his Norfolk Holdings, which he first joined in 2022 and now owns 85%.
American investment in English football has surged over the last two decades, beginning with Malcolm Glazer’s leveraged buyout of Manchester United in 2005, valuing the club at £790 million ($1.4 billion at that time). Stan Kroenke began acquiring shares of Arsenal in 2007 and gained full control by 2011 at a valuation of $1.2 billion.
Manchester United holds the top spot on Sportico’s global soccer team valuations, estimated at $6.2 billion, while Arsenal ranks eighth at $3.91 billion.
In 2010, John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group purchased Liverpool for £300 million ($476 million at the time) and has since increased the club’s value by more than tenfold to $5.11 billion, putting them fourth overall.
Attanasio, who also owns MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, is part of a trend of U.S. sports owners investing in the UK. Their interest lies in the extensive global exposure these clubs offer; however, many advocate for more financial regulation on player spending, similar to the structures in North American leagues. The absence of salary caps in European football often leads to significant financial losses as clubs vie to avoid relegation or to earn promotion to the Premier League. Clubs also fiercely compete for Champions League placements and stronger squads for European tournaments.
Only five teams in the Premier League turned a profit after player trading in the 2022-23 season, with total losses before taxes and finance costs reaching £530 million ($684 million at current exchange rates). In contrast, the NFL reported a pre-tax profit of $4.6 billion.
Khan’s team investments illustrate the differing financial dynamics of sports leagues. He acquired the Jaguars in 2011 for $770 million, and the franchise now generates substantial profits, often exceeding $100 million in favorable years, with a valuation close to $5 billion.
Two years after securing the Jaguars, Khan bought Fulham for over $200 million. The team was relegated to the Championship the following year and has spent six of the last eleven seasons in that division under his ownership, accumulating $500 million in operating losses. Its current value is estimated to be only a fraction of that of the Jaguars.
This flawed economic model prevalent in European football explains why only Manchester United and Real Madrid are among the top 30 most valuable sports franchises worldwide, a list heavily dominated by the NFL, which benefits from a strict salary cap and substantial TV revenue, along with a few teams from the NBA and MLB.
Despite the challenges, American investors remain drawn to UK soccer. Steve Parish is the managing partner of Crystal Palace, but American John Textor owns a 45% stake, while private equity investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer hold 18% each.
Textor is seeking to acquire his own UK club and has entered exclusive negotiations to purchase Everton from Farhad Moshiri after previous approaches by American firms 777 and Friedkin Group fell short. Everton has incurred losses of $107 million in the 2022-23 season, marking its sixth consecutive year of losses totaling $623 million. The club narrowly avoided relegation at the end of last season, finishing in 15th place, yet interest persists from American investors.