Remarks
Private Equity’s Soccer Strategy Hits a Saudi Arabian Snag
Paying superstar salaries to players of all sorts, the kingdom puts pressure on owners who want to keep costs down.
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The US private equity firms that have piled into European soccer over the past few years might, all of a sudden, have a problem in the form of Saudi Arabia.
The likes of Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC, Hertha Berlin and Olympique Lyonnais are all backed by US-based PE money. The number of teams in Europe’s top leagues controlled by PE-style investors has jumped tenfold in the past decade.