Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov has sold his stake in English football club Arsenal, which is now owned by American Stan Kronke. Usmanov has owned shares in Arsenal since 2007, but after failing to get a controlling stake, he eventually decided to leave the game.
One of the most popular English clubs is managed by Arsenal Holdings, which owns 100% of the club's shares. Kroenke, who owns Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE), became their virtual sole owner. Previously, Kroenke owned 67% of Arsenal's shares, but he made a formal offer to buy out the remaining stake in the club from other shareholders and received Usmanov's consent to sell his 30% stake. The transaction amounted to £550m (over $711m) and 18,695 shares were transferred at an agreed price of £29,419.64 per share.
"I have made the decision to sell my shares in Arsenal Football Club, which may be the best football club peace. I wish great success to the wonderful football club and everyone whose life and career are connected with it," Usmanov said in a statement.
Redistribution of property in 2007
Founded in 1886, Arsenal have won 13 league titles over the years, with the last title in 2004. This year has become historic for the London club - after 22 years of work he left the team Main coach Arsene Wenger, while the club became the sole owner of one person - Stan Kroenke. In a long-term struggle with Usmanov, he managed to win - largely thanks to minority shareholders who sold their shares to the American.
For many years Arsenal was owned by two powerful families, the Bracewell-Smiths and the Hill-Woods. The former presidents of the club were Sir Bracewell-Smith, who in the post-war years was the mayor of the British capital, as well as Samuel Hill-Wood, who was a member of parliament. Subsequently, the club's shares were distributed among their heirs, who gradually parted with them, and by 2007, Danny Fishman, a diamond magnate who was on the club's board of directors, became the main shareholder of the Gunners. He took possession of 24.1% of the shares.
In 2006, Arsenal became the owner of a new stadium with a capacity of 60,000 fans, which, thanks to a sponsorship contract, was named the Emirates. The presence of a modern arena made the London club a very promising asset, so 11 years ago Alisher Usmanov also became a co-owner of Arsenal. A 14.58% stake in Arsenal was bought by Red And White Holdings, which Usmanov himself and his business partner Farhad Moshiri own on a parity basis. A year later, Red And White Holdings became the main shareholder of the club, acquiring a 24.2% stake. In 2009, Usmanov's company also received a blocking stake of 25% of Arsenal's shares.
However, it was in 2009 that the American Stan Kroenke entered the fight for ownership of Arsenal, who bought out part of the shares from Fishman, and then successfully brought his stake to the majority, in 2011 owning more than 67%.
Club tycoon Kroenke
Kroenke, now 71, got his start in the real estate business and also had a successful marriage to Ann Walton, heiress to Wal-Mart, the world's largest wholesale and retail chain. In the 90s, Kroenke created Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which became the owner of several professional clubs from Denver to the basketball Nuggets, playing in the NBA, the hockey Colorado Avalanche and the football Colorado Rapids, representing major league soccer (MLS). Subsequently, Kroenke bought the Rams American football team and moved it from St. Louis to Los Angeles. KSE also owns the Pepsi Center in Denver, the arena where the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche play.
Such a serious competitor, moreover, unlike Usmanov, who is professionally engaged in sports management, prevented the intentions of the Russian businessman to become the full owner of Arsenal: he several times approached Kronka with an offer to buy out his shares, but was refused - the American himself expected to receive Usmanov's share.
As the majority shareholder of the club, Kroenke was obliged to offer the rest of the shareholders to buy out their shares. Last October, Usmanov refused, but this time he decided to leave the game. Largely because I finally understood: the American will not part with his share, and Usmanov is not destined to become the full owner of the club.
The Premier League starts on August 10, while Arsenal will play their first match on Sunday, August 12, against last year's winners Manchester City. Last season, Arsenal finished only sixth, which was worst result teams since 1995. Wenger's departure was announced back in the winter, and as a result, the Gunners were left without the Champions League for the second time in a row, where the team played invariably from 1998 to 2016. In 2006, Arsenal even reached the final, where they lost to Barcelona, and last season reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.
In 22 years with Wenger, Arsenal have won the Premier League three times and finished 11 times, earning a reputation as a team that prefers combinational football, which was previously considered "continental". At the same time, Arsenal's main successes are associated with cup competitions - the Gunners won the FA Cup a record 13 times, eight of them under Wenger. Arsenal won their last cup in 2017.
After the departure of Wenger, the team was headed by the Spaniard Unai Emery, who worked with the French club Paris Saint-Germain last season. Previously, Emery led, among others, the Moscow Spartak, and with Sevilla he won three Europa Leagues in a row. It is clear that Arsenal will be one of the main contenders to win this tournament in the coming season. In the summer, the “Gunners” increased rather quantitatively - the German goalkeeper Bernd Leno, the defenders of the Greek Sokratis Papastathopoulos and the Swiss Stefan Lichtsteiner, the Uruguayan midfielders Lucas Torreira and the Frenchman Matteo Guendouzi became the team's newcomers.
It is unlikely that "Arsenal" should expect an early victory in the championship of England, where the competition is as high as ever. However, the club is capable of returning to the Champions League, but for this you need to either take a place in the top four or win the Europa League.
Evgeny Trushin
One of the largest shareholders of the London Arsenal, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov gave a detailed interview in which he spoke about the latest changes in the team.
“The club is very close to success,” Usmanov was quoted as saying by the Telegraph. - I think a new era of Arsenal is starting, in which we will win trophies. It's the most important thing in football. In my opinion, given the existing rules, the club has chosen the right course - this concerns the selection policy, especially the current one, when the club buys the best players."
It's about on the acquisition of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, bought from Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, for a total of 75 million pounds.
In 2012 Alisher Usmanov wrote open letter, in which he criticized the club's management for the sale of Robin van Persie. On this moment the policy of the London club has changed towards more spending. In particular, it was said that the head coach of the “Gunners” Arsene Wenger allocated 100 million pounds for transfers.
“I believe that Arsenal's spending planning was based on the need to invest in new stadium. The decision was made by previous leaders. The investment of funds led to the emergence of debts that had to be repaid at the expense of income from matches, Usmanov emphasized. — There is another way: the shareholders buy all the assets and invest in the club. As a result, these investments, without debts, begin to generate income for the club. It always depends on the shareholders which model will be chosen.
Board members and major shareholders opted for a debt model, with the result that Arsenal could not win a championship or the Champions League for ten years. The first trophy was won only in the tenth year. We had to sell players, while it was impossible to buy top players. But all these difficulties are now behind us, the team is in good condition. The team's finances are in order and I believe that Arsene Wenger and the club's board will properly manage the assets.
How would I run a club? I would do it my way, like Alisher Usmanov, and not like Roman Abramovich (owner of Chelsea, - ed. note) or Sheikh Mansour (owner of Manchester City, - ed. note), with all due respect to these people. I invested in Arsenal when I bought shares. Obviously, when a club needs money, I am ready to consider any issue. In my opinion, today the club has excellent prospects and there is no need to make additional investments.”
FC Arsenal. Photo by Globallookpress
According to the Russian businessman, football clubs should be guided by the principles of financial fair play. “I believe that financial fair play is a necessary disciplinary measure that limits the unreasonable spending of money by clubs without investing in their own youth. In addition, clubs should try to generate income from their core activities. These are football revenues and football-related business assets. In my opinion, main feature financial fair play is the fact that you invest your own funds in assets.”
Despite the fact that Usmanov considers cooperation with Arsenal as a "business investment", at the same time, the Russian entrepreneur is a big fan of football. Usmanov recalls with nostalgia how he himself played football with his classmates, as well as how, at the age of 12, he and his father came from Uzbekistan to Moscow to watch the USSR-Brazil match, in which the Pelé team won with a score of 3: 0.
Alisher Usmanov became a fan of Arsenal in the late 90s. He liked the Gunners' style of play.
The businessman is pleased that his role at Arsenal is constructive. “I never said anything bad about the club or about anyone personally,” Usmanov emphasizes. - I said what, from my point of view, should be done to improve work efficiency, and what should not be done. I want to express my support to the coaching staff. The specialists have achieved the best they could, given how the team was doing with the finances.
“I have warm and, it seems to me, good relations with some of the members of the board of directors,” the Russian businessman says further.
At the same time, Usmanov emphasizes that he has never directly contacted Stan Kroenke, one of the club's largest shareholders. “Those who control the club run it,” says the entrepreneur. - The Krenke group controls the club, it makes management decisions. I have 30 percent of the shares in Arsenal, while the success of the board of directors is the success of the shareholders. I have no plans to leave Arsenal, I wish Arsenal every success and hope the club wins trophies."
On the occasion of the purchase of Parma by a businessman from Russia, SE remembers all the Russian owners of British, French, Italian, Swiss and Australian football clubs.
Businessman: Roman Abramovich
State: 9.1 billion dollars (14th place in the Russian Forbes rating).
Club: Chelsea (controlling stake).
Champion of England (2004/05, 2005/06, 2009/10), FA Cup winner (2006/07, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2011/12), League Cup winner (2004/05, 2006/07), winner of the FA Super Cup (2005, 2009), winner of the Champions League (2011/12), winner of the UEFA Cup (2012/13)
The fall in world metal prices in recent years has reduced Abramovich's wealth, but not his passionate love of sports. Aggressive buying policy the best players planet (the total expenses of the ex-governor of Chukotka on the club exceeded $ 1.5 billion) turned Chelsea into the leader of English and European football. Moreover, it finally and irrevocably transformed the ball game into an independent business adventure with several mandatory attributes: an almost uncontrollable transfer policy, multimillion-dollar star contracts, global marketing and a dubious profit prospect for those who pay for it all.
Photo AFP
A new era for Chelsea began on 2 July 2003 when BBC 5Live began its sports news broadcast by reporting that Russian businessman Roman Abr A Movich (with the accent on the second syllable) bought the London club Chelsea for 140 million pounds. The oligarch pledged to cover the 80-million debts of the Blues, and paid directly 59.3 million pounds for the purchase itself and received a controlling stake in the company that owns the football club. That same summer, Chelsea spent over £100m buying new players, but that was just the beginning. Later, Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko, Fernando Torres, Eden Hazard and several dozen other famous football players from all over the world joined the team.
Businessman: Vladimir ROMANOV
State: ?
Club:"Hearts" (51 percent of the shares).
Titles under the Russian owner: Scottish Cup (2005/06, 2011/12).
Photo AFP
The Russian-Lithuanian businessman at Hearts was accepted by the team's fans as a savior. In the autumn of 2004, the Scottish club was on the verge of bankruptcy (with debts of more than 20 million pounds), and the football community had a fresh and quite successful example of the transformation of another unprofitable British club, Chelsea, under the leadership of Russian capital. At first, Romanov also did not spare money for the team (adjusted for the more modest financial requests of Hearts, the businessman spent more than 60 million pounds). However, the euphoria quickly gave way to a series of scandals (Romanov turned out to be a petty tyrant and a big fan of interfering in training process, as well as give advice to the coach), new financial difficulties, delays in paying salaries. Romanov himself also had problems: at first he lost all his assets, which was connected with the collapse of the Lithuanian bank Ukio bankas; in early 2014, he sold a controlling stake in the club after the Hearts were transferred to external management, and then went to jail altogether.
Businessman: David TRAKTOVENKO
State: ?
Club:"Sydney" (90 percent of the shares).
Titles under the Russian owner: Australian champion (2009/10), winner of the final A-League series (2006, 2010).
Traktovenko became the owner of a 22 percent stake in the Australian club back in 2006, and in May 2012 increased his stake to 90 percent. Thus, the former head of the board of directors of the St. Petersburg "Zenith" at the moment - the majority shareholder of "Sydney". Despite successful performances in the local league, the club's financial situation leaves much to be desired: in the first 7 years of its existence (Sydney was founded in 2004), it received a loss of $ 20 million.
Photo dailytelegraph.com.au
One of the commercial successes of Traktovenko can be considered an invitation to the club of the Italian football star - veteran Alessandro Del Piero. This fact significantly increased the number of mentions of Sydney in the feed of world news agencies, and also opened up new markets for Traktovenko's football business.
Businessman: Alisher USMANOV
State: 18.6 billion dollars (1st place in the Russian Forbes rating).
Club: Arsenal (30.2 percent of the club's shares).
FA Cup (2013/14), Super Cup (2014).
Usmanov's investment company Red & White Securities (RWS) acquired a 14.6 percent stake in Arsenal back in 2007 for £75 million. The London club at that time needed to raise additional funds for the construction of a new stadium (another investor who invested in the shares was Stan Kroenke, an American billionaire and co-owner sports teams in USA). Usmanov and his partner Farhad Moshiri would later reveal that they were offered to buy another capital club, Tottenham. There were also negotiations with Liverpool, but in fact they chose between Manchester United, of which Moshiri is a fan, and Arsenal, which for recent years sympathized with the Russian billionaire.
Photo telegraph.co.uk
Over the next few years, Usmanov's company increased its stake by more than 15 percent, but Kroenke (62.89 percent of shares) remains the real owner of Arsenal. This, however, does not prevent businessmen from alternately criticizing the long-term mentor of the Gunners, Arsene Wenger, reproaching him either for the lack of significant titles, or for the vague policy in the transfer market.
Businessman: Yuri KORABLIN
State: ?
Club:"Venice" (controlling stake).
Titles under the Russian owner: No.
Photo of FC "Venice"
The former mayor of Khimki near Moscow Yuri Korablin in February 2011 entered the list of Russian businessmen who acquired their own foreign football clubs. Venezia, which played in the Italian Serie D and has experienced three bankruptcies over the past eight years, has become a new asset. The club did not experience serious financial problems (debts - no more than 400 thousand euros), but did not have solid ground under their feet (in the case of Venice - literally and figuratively) to return to the elite of Italian football. Korablin promised "not to pump hundreds of millions of euros" into his new project and among other priorities was going to improve the infrastructure of "Venice". The old municipal stadium, where the team plays home matches, is hopelessly outdated, and back in 2012 Korablin announced the construction of a new arena in the suburbs of Venice for 70 million euros (from personal funds). The extra seats could come in handy for the club in the coming years as Venezia are in Lega Pro (Group A) and are in contention for Serie B.
Businessman: Bulat CHAGAYEV
State: ?
Club: Xamax (controlling stake).
Titles under the Russian owner: No.
Another criminal story with the Russian football asset happened in Switzerland: the vice-president of the Grozny football club "Terek" Bulat Chagaev in May 2011 acquired "Xamax" from the city of Neuchâtel. A businessman who owned a construction company in the country of banks and chocolate and had interests in the real estate market, bought a controlling stake from the Bernaskoni business group. In his communiqué, he said he was delighted to lead the team to national victories and "inconceivable" successes in Europe, including in the Champions League.
Photo of FC "Xamax"
What turned out loud promises? A month after the purchase, the businessman spoke publicly about the need to give the club a Chechen name - "Ksamaks-Vainakh" (this was followed by a loud scandal and public condemnation). And already six months later, Chagaev's project suffered a complete collapse - its owner was arrested by the police on the order of the prosecutor of the canton of Geneva. This happened already after the football club, deprived of a license, announced on its official website that it had begun bankruptcy proceedings and released all players from contractual obligations. As a result, "Xamax" was in the third division of the Swiss championship.
Businessman: Vladimir ANTONOV
State: ?
Club: Portsmouth (controlling stake).
Titles under the Russian owner: No.
Financial problems in 2010 made Portsmouth, formerly owned by Russian-speaking businessman Alexander Gaydamak and Suleiman Al-Fahim from the UAE, the first bankrupt club in Premier League history (with £135m in debt). The team from Hampshire came under external management and was withdrawn from it only after financial guarantees from Converse Sports Initiatives, led by Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov.
In June 2011, CSI acquired the then-Championship League club from Sports Holdings (Asia) Ltd after several months of negotiations. Portsmouth did not hide their optimism. "I'm sure at CSI we found owners with a long-term vision", said Portsmouth chief executive David Lampitt.
Portsmouth FC photo
The new owner passed the test Football League England for integrity, but in November Antonov had problems with the law (in Lithuania he was suspected of financial fraud). The case ended with the fact that six months later the businessman was forced to leave the club along with his capital, and on April 10, 2013, Portsmouth officially passed into the hands of the Portsmouth Supporters Trust. The deal amounted to 3 million pounds.
Businessman: Maxim DEMIN
State: ?
Club: Bournemouth (50 percent of the shares).
Titles under the Russian co-owner: No.
Photo bournemouthecho.co.uk
The deal to acquire the club of the third most important English division was completed in November 2011. In an official statement posted on the club's website, Bournemouth chairman Eddie Mitchell said he now owns only half of the club's shares, while the remaining 50 percent belongs to his Russian partner Maxim Demin. The arrival of the Russian co-owner is associated with the main success in the history of the provincial English club- access to the championship, where at the moment the team lives, without hiding its ambitions to get into the premier league. An interesting fact: in order to avoid relegation from the third division, Demin once spent a record £1.65 million on transfers for the club.
Businessman: Dmitry RYBOLOVLEV
State: 8.8 billion dollars (17th place in the Russian Forbes rating).
Club:"Monaco" (66.67 percent of the shares).
Titles under the Russian owner: No.
Monaco Sport Invest (MSI), controlled by billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, reached an agreement in December 2011 to acquire a controlling stake in the once formidable Monaco, then playing in League 2. MSI received almost 66.7 percent of the club's shares, the other 33 percent was owned by the local Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club. In the official club communique, it was reported that Rybolovlev's structure undertakes to invest at least 100 million in the development of Monaco over the next four years.
Photo by AS Monaco
After a season and a half, Monaco returned to the elite of French football, becoming one of the main newsmakers of the 2013 summer transfer window. Rybolovlev has invested more than 100 million euros to buy stars and stars: Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, João Moutinho, Ricardo Carvalho, Jeremy Toulalan, Eric Abidal and many others. In the 2013/14 season, Monaco finished second in Ligue 1 and returned to the Champions League, but last summer the club parted ways with some of the leaders, and on September 3, a change in the club's strategy was published in the press.
What is the reason for the sharp change in the vector of development? Several versions were voiced in the media: the club is obliged to pay 50 million euros for two seasons of playing in Ligue 1 (the fine should compensate for Monaco's tax benefits to other clubs - these are the features of French law); Rybolovlev's financial problems associated with some non-football assets, as well as, according to rumors, cool relations between the businessman and Prince Albert II of Monaco, which could even turn into a sale of the club. Be that as it may, in October, Monaco representatives officially denied the information about Rybolovlev's withdrawal from the project.
Businessman: Anton ZINGAREVICH
State: ?
Club:"Reading" (51 percent of the shares).
Titles under the Russian owner: No.
The deal between Anton Zingarevich (the son and, respectively, nephew of Boris and Mikhail Zingarevich, co-owners of the Ilim Group timber industry company) and Reading became known back in the winter of 2012, but officially it was completed by the end of May (its amount, according to various sources, is 13 -16 million pounds sterling). Thames Sports Investment, which is controlled by a Russian businessman, acquired a 51 percent stake in the club after receiving approval from the Premier League. Reading is back in the elite English football after a four-year absence, found a new owner and made far-reaching plans: " We are entering a new bright era", - said in a message on the club website on the day the purchase was completed.
Photo AFP
But the reality turned out to be different. At the end of the season, Reading, which was joined by Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, took 19th place and left the Premier League. The club also faced financial problems. The purchase deal was to be completed in two stages: the first took place in May 2012, the second was planned for September 2013 (TSI was supposed to buy the remaining 49 percent stake), but never took place. Income also declined, mainly due to smaller deductions from the sale of TV rights, but debts only grew. Already in the spring of 2014, Zingarevich was ready to sell the club for a symbolic 1 pound, provided that the new owner repays 38 million debts. In September, a buyer was finally found, and a controlling stake went to three Thai businessmen: 50, 25 and 25 percent each.
History with a possible sale Alisher Usmanov its stake in Arsenal began last year. Then there were rumors that the owner of the controlling stake offered the Russian businessman 525 million pounds for his 30% stake. , in which he denied everything and added that he was ready to sell his stake to anyone who would share his views on the development of the club, but not Kroenke.
“I would like to clarify that I am not in any negotiations with Mr. Kroenke about the sale. My interest in Arsenal was long-term from the start and my intention was to buy additional shares if they became available. I have always been and will continue to be an ardent supporter of Arsenal and I believe that my 30 per cent share is an important aspect in protecting the interests of the club's supporters. My views are different from the views of the majority shareholder, I would take a different approach to achieving success. I would like to assure the fans that I am open to various options - a constructive partnership with the majority shareholder, buying his share alone or in a consortium, and if a party appears that shares my position on the development of the club, I can consider selling the share. Usmanov said.
Now it seems that his position has changed. According to The Financial Times, the deal between the two businessmen has already been completed, and now he is the sole owner of the club.
Who is Kroenke and when did he join Arsenal?
The American billionaire has his own company, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Los Angeles Rams (NFL), Colorado Rapids (MLS), Colorado Envelanche (NHL), Denver Nuggets (NBA) and even National Lacrosse League Club Colorado Mammoth. In addition, he launched his own television channel, Altitude Sports and Entertainment.
In 2006, his club Colorado Rapids entered into a technical cooperation agreement with Arsenal - this is how Kroenke Sports & Entertainment received a 2.3% stake in the London club. A year later, Kroenke bought another 9.9% stake from the English cable TV channel ITV and said that he wanted to become the full owner of Arsenal over time.
Where did Usmanov come from?
In August 2007, Red and White Holding, owned by his partner Farhad Moshiri, acquired a 14.58% stake from former Arsenal vice-president David Dean, who abruptly left his post after the appearance of an American billionaire. There is a version that he advocated the sale of most of the shares of Kroenke, who would invest the necessary amount of money in the club. But other shareholders did not agree with such a proposal, so they signed an agreement that they would not sell their shares for at least another year. Dean was offered a choice of two options: either accept this agreement and sign under it, or leave. He chose the second option.
What's next?
A real struggle for power began between the two businessmen. At first, Usmanov "led" in the account: by the spring of 2009, his company had 25% of the shares, while, like Kroenke, it was only 20.5%. But the American did not even think of stopping, so he gradually bought up the shares of former shareholders, and two years later he already had 67% of the shares.
In 2016, Usmanov bought out a stake from his partner Moshiri, after which his stake increased to 30.04%. In 2017, he offered Kronke £1bn for his share, but the American refused.
What is the reason for their disagreement?
Usmanov tried to actively invest in the club and engage in its development, but Kroenke did not agree with his ideas. In the view of the American, the club should spend only what it earns and incur minimal costs. A Russian businessman once even wrote an open letter to Kronke, in which he stressed that with such an approach, Arsenal would not see trophies for a long time.
What do the fans think?
To put it mildly, they do not like Kroenke, so it is unlikely that any of them are now happy with his new status. The thing is that they (like Usmanov) are not satisfied with the policy pursued by the American: everything is for the sake of money, not football. His dream is to make the club self-sustaining, which is why he raised the prices of tickets and season tickets, saves on transfers and always counts money. But there is another reason for dissatisfaction: the fans are outraged that he does not go to the stadium and is not particularly interested in the club winning trophies. They even tried to protest against him, but to no avail.
Why did Usmanov sell his shares?
The sale of Arsenal shares became the main topic of the day in England - it was a rather unexpected step on the part of Usmanov. At the request of the “Championship”, the agent presented his version of events Sandor Varga, aware of the processes in the club and familiar with Usmanov.
“Alisher went to Arsenal to be number one there,” Varga said. - He did not want to be second and not participate in the life and development of the club. Usmanov expected to make "Arsenal" the best club peace. Just holding the shares of an English club is a profitable business, unlike in Russia, where it is a guaranteed expense. In England, teams end the year on a positive balance and are worth more and more. He was not understood, so he sold his shares. And “Arsenal” with Kroenke does not expect anything good. He does not like and does not understand football, for him it is exclusively business. Kroenke is rarely even at matches. Yes, there will be revenues and spectators, shares will rise in price, but there will be no sporting spirit. Unfortunately, more and more people appear in the leadership of both clubs and world football who need money more than sports achivments. It's very sad to watch."
What does Usmanov say?
“I have made the decision to sell my shares in Arsenal Football Club, which may be the best football club in the world. I wish great success to this wonderful club and to everyone whose lives and careers are connected with it.”
