Premier League star in talks to buy Ligue 1 club – This is how it can be done


 
 
 
 
 
 

A Premier League player buying a top tier club in another major European league?

That is the world we are now living in.

Over in France it is reported (see below) that having previously considered buying Saint-Etienne or Le Havre, Trent Alexander-Arnold has now decided on FC Nantes as the Ligue 1 club he wants to buy.

FC Nantes are currently fifth in Ligue 1, ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

How can this be done you may ask, how can a 25 year old Premier League player afford to buy a top tier club in France?

Well, the days of English top tier players needing to get a job driving a taxi or running a pub, just to put food on the table after they retire, is very much in the past.

That is on a whole other level now with many major players, we already have former football stars opening stakes in clubs, or even owning an entire club.

It also sounds like Trent Alexander-Arnold is a very switched on individual when it comes to money and business, intending not just to live on the fortunes he earns playing for Liverpool.

The French media say that their information is that it would be a ‘straight €80m (approx £67m)’ plus other future add-ons.

Obviously, £67m is still no small sum.

However, when you look at what happened with Kylian Mbappe, you can start to appreciate how easily it could be done. Mbappe ran his contract down at PSG and so Real Madrid got arguably the best player in the world for nothing. Of course, in reality, the vast majority of the transfer fee that the Spanish club would have had to pay, they instead have to give to Mbappe in order to convince him to sign.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is probably valued at something like £80m I would guess, maybe even £100m.

However, he has refused all attempts by Liverpool to sign a new contract and as things stand he can move for nothing at the end of June 2025, he could agree to sign for say… Real Madrid(!!!) in January 2025, with that ‘free’ transfer completed next summer.

All/much of the £80m-£100m transfer fee that Real Madrid don’t need to pay, potentially/probably ending up in the pocket of the player instead.

Remarkably, you can see exactly how such a 25 year old current Premier League player could well afford to buy a top level club in France.

One question springs to mind if this does happen with Trent Alexander-Arnold, or indeed other current players buying other clubs.

We all know that there is an issue if someone owns a major stake in more than one club and two of their clubs are then drawn to meet in European competition. So what would happen if say in the future Trent Alexander-Arnold was playing for Real Madrid and they met FC Nantes after the player had bought the French club outright???

Modern football…

GFFN report – 20 September 2024:

‘Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold (25) intends to take over Ligue 1 side FC Nantes, according to a report this Friday from L’Equipe. The outlet understands that the England international’s father, Michael Arnold, who acts as the manager of his sons’ interests through a London-based investment firm has a keen interest in the French sports market. It would not be the first time considering Alexander-Arnold is already a minority shareholder of the French Formula 1 team, Alpine F1 Team, through Otro Capital.

L’Equipe understands that Arnold was interested in purchasing AS Saint-Etienne and Le Havre before setting his sights on FC Nantes. The 8-time French champions are owned by French businessman Waldemar Kita, an ever-unpopular figure among the Canaris fanbase. Kita owns FC Nantes since 2007 and has reportedly grew tired of the sporting and financial struggles encountered by the Loire-Atlantique side. Kita’s failure to build a new privately owned stadium and the TV rights deal debacle only confirmed his intention to, at least, entertain the club’s sale.

Kita reportedly met the Arnolds via videoconference last summer before meeting them in person, in Geneva, those last few days. The takeover bid reportedly amounts to €100m, including a straight €80m plus a seller credit of €20m accompanied by various bonuses of up to €40m. A third meeting reportedly occurred this Thursday in London between the interested parties.’