UEFA quarterfinals Europa League 2020-2021 They start on Thursday on this day and will do so with a peculiarity that, although it will not have a direct connection with what is happening on the field, is a vital part for the functioning of the clubs and the formation of their teams.
These are the companies behind the eight teams that came in this case, because five of them are foreigners, three of them United States of America and two more of China, two of the nations that in recent years have invested money in sports institutions outside their borders.
United States, England and Italy
Manchester United: Between 2003 and 2005, American businessman Malcolm Irving Glazer took over all the shares of the Red Devils, paying over $ 1,160 million. Glazer passed away in 2014, but his family is still at the helm of the English team and also owns Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, 2021 Super Bowl Champions.
Arsenal: Gunners are owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment of Denver, Colorado. Its owner is the businessman Stan Kroeken, which, in addition to the London framework, is the majority shareholder of NFL Angels Rams, MLS Colorado Rapids, NBA Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL.
Roma: Dan Friedkin, originally from San Diego, California, owns the company Friedkin Group who owns the Italian box from 2020. In addition to being a filmmaker and owner of a film and entertainment production company, Dan Friedkin He is the CEO of one of Toyota’s largest car dealerships.
China, Spain and the Czech Republic
Granada CF.: The Spanish team belongs to Daxian 2009 SL, founded in Spain since 2009, however, in 2016 this company passed into the hands of Chinese businessman Jian Lizhang, who also invested in the acquisition of most of the shares of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA football club and Parma from Italy.
Slavia PragueIn 2015, the Chinese company CEFC China Energy landed in the Czech Republic and, among the investments it made, acquired 60 percent of the shares of the Czech team. Three years later, in 2018, it was announced that another Chinese company, Sinobo, was the new majority shareholder of the club, which, together with Manchester, are the only ones to win this competition.
The three clubs that are in the quarterfinals and have local investments behind them are Villarreal from Spain, Ajax from the Netherlands and Dinamo Zagreb, which is currently in managerial trouble, since its president, Zoran Mamic, was accused of embezzlement and corruption on March 15.