- Thursday, March 06, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
A number of football clubs in England, including giants such as Manchester United and Liverpool, have been put up for sale recently. The current owners of both the elite clubs are looking to sell their stakes at appropriate price and if reports are to be believed, Indian business tycoon Mukesh Ambani is reportedly looking to buy an English football club and that is Arsenal based out of north London, and not Manchester United or Liverpool as it was speculated earlier.
It’s already been a few weeks that the Glazer family, which owns Manchester United, revealed their intention to sell their stakes in the football club. It was then when Ambani, the second richest Indian and Asian, was linked with a probable deal. But it has now been reported that it is Arsenal that he has targeted.
A report in The Athletic said that Mukesh’s son Akash, also a businessman, is a big fan of Arsenal and that the club is the one the Mumbai-based Ambanis would go for.
The US-based publication’s report also said that in India, which is a predominantly cricket-obsessed country, the hunger for other sports is on the rise.
Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at France’s SKEMA Business School, was quoted as saying, “There is an increasing appetite in India for non-cricket investment opportunities in sport. This links to India’s digital and entertainment economy. City Football Group invested in Mumbai, and Mumbai is the digital, entertainment and financial capital of India. If you look at some of the things Abu Dhabi’s wealth fund is investing in, they have invested in digital start-ups in Mumbai.
“There is a sense India could be the next great frontier. We’ve already had China, and now we have Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Arsenal’s majority stakes are currently owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.
The Ambanis, who own a franchise in India’s popular T20 tournament Indian Premier League, have taken initiatives to improve the football scenario in the South Asian country, which is a low rank-holder. Mukesh backs the Indian Super League (ISL), an annual football tournament which has brought the country’s football fans closer to some big names of the game and gave domestic talents a much-required professional league.
The ISL, owned and run by Football Sports Development Limited, which is chaired by Mukesh’s entrepreneur wife Nita, has emerged as the top league in Indian football.
