November 21 – Atletico Madrid’s new billionaire Israeli shareholder Idan Ofer has has said his €50 million investment in the club is for business reasons and not his love of the game or Atletico.
Ofer, reckoned to be worth $2.6 billion, told Israel’s Channel 2: “I didn’t grow up in football but I see it as a business with great potential.
“Atletico are a special club and, as no one can buy Real Madrid and Barcelona because they belong to their fans, Atleti are the best publicly owned club you can find.”
Ofer will own 15% of the club once the deal is complete. Accounts show Chinese conglomerate Wanda, which has the naming rights to the new stadium, has a 20% stake, while chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin has a stake of 54.64%, though his shares are likely a proxy for other investors and where Ofer is buying his shares from. President Enrique Cerezo has a 17.9% stake.
Atletico this season moved into its 67,000 capacity new stadium – the Wanda Metropolitano – which after many delays was built at a cost of €310 million and which will greatly increase the opportunities for the club’s match day revenue streams.
Forbes values the club at $732 million though the club has debt of €483 million on 2016 revenue of €218 million. 2016 account show an operational profit of €24.3 million.
Atletico have won the La Liga title 10 times but had been out of the big picture in Spain for a while until they broke the dominance of Real Madrid and Barcelona by winning the title in 2014. They reached the Champions League final in 2014 and 2016, losing both times to Real Madrid.
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