What are the biggest football club sales in history? | OneFootball

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The purchase of Manchester United by Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim is close to being finalised, according to reports, beating rival Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the process.

Neil Custis, via The Sun, revealed that a bid reaching the valuation set by the Glazers of £6 billion has been agreed upon, with an announcement expected within the next month. If the figures are to be believed, it would make Manchester United the most expensive football team purchase in history.

While we await confirmation of this mammoth deal going through, let’s look at some other teams that have been bought for mega money and compare them to the potential sale of the Red Devils.

9 Manchester City

Now, they are treble winners and arguably the best team in the world, but when Emirati Sheikh Mansor bought the club, The Citizens were no more than mid-table at best. In fact, less than 10 years before the purchase, they were competing in the second tier of English football.

Mansor had a vision for what he wanted the club to become and, safe to say, he has been successful in achieving it. He paid around £160 million for City and continued to invest. It wasn’t all plain sailing for Mansor’s team. However, by the turn of the 2010s, Man City turned themselves from the noisy neighbours to a genuine dynasty of their own.

The best players, the best managers, the best facilities – you name it, he has paid for it. It’s no wonder that now, City are sitting at the top of the mountain in European football. The scary thing is that it seems like there’s no slowing them down! One thing that could slow them down, however, is when Pep Guardiola eventually chooses to depart the Etihad Stadium... after all, how can you replace someone like Pep?!

8 Inter Milan

A team with a fantastic history, Inter Milan had been on the decline following Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning season in 2010. Struggling to compete for Europe, let alone titles, all I Nerazzuri fans' prayers were answered when the club’s ownership changed hands in 2016.

Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Jindong purchased the Italian giants for around £225 million. He has overseen an upturn in fortunes since then, with Inter Milan ending Juventus’ run of nine consecutive league titles in 2021. They followed that up with an impressive run to the Champions League final for the first time in over a decade.

Despite a valiant effort on the night, including some wasteful finishing from Romelu Lukaku, Inter succumbed to Manchester City’s brilliance in a 1-0 defeat. From where they were just a few years prior, even in defeat, Inter fans had and continue to have much more to be positive about.

7 Liverpool

One of the most historical sides in English and world football, Liverpool were a shadow of their former selves heading into the 2010s. It had been a long time since they mounted a genuine title challenge, and they were struggling to make the top four with any consistency.

The Reds were bought by Fenway Sports Group for approximately £300 million and over a decade later, they seem to have recaptured their mojo.

It took some time, but after being a Steven Gerrard slip away from the league title in 2014, the era of Jurgen Klopp has seen Liverpool end their 30-year drought without a league title, while also finding domestic cup success and two Champions League finals, winning the first of those in 2019.

That is not to say everything has been smooth sailing for the Fenway Group. The approval of the proposed European Super League and perceived failure to back Klopp in the transfer market has led to frustration among the fan base and criticism from pundits.

It was reported in late 2022 that FSG were putting Liverpool up for sale following the collapse of the European Super League. At the time of writing, no sale has taken place.

6 Newcastle United

To say Mike Ashley’s reign as the owner of Newcastle United was toxic would be an understatement. A city that is passionate about its football and its team, Ashley turned Newcastle from battling for Europe to relegation fodder.

Poor recruitment, poor managerial decisions, and for some fans, a lack of care from Ashley made him the biggest villain in Tyneside. Most people could only dream of the day they could see the back of the Sports Direct owner.

Following months of speculation, the fans finally got their wish. The Saudi Public Investment Fund and PCP Capital’s combined bid was scrutinised but eventually approved by the FA, for a whopping £300 million. Things could not have gone better since. In the first full season of the new ownership, new manager Eddie Howe guided Newcastle back to the Champions League for the first time since before Mike Ashley’s reign. Fantastic acquisitions have been made all over the pitch, and one can only assume it won’t be long before Newcastle United become genuine title contenders.

5 Valencia

When Singaporean tycoon Peter Lim bought Valencia in 2014, we don’t think he could’ve predicted quite where the club would be right now. Lim purchased a 70% stake in the club for £345 million, which was to be spent on the club’s debt and stadium.

Whereas most of the takeovers up to this point have seen some rewards, Lim’s purchase of Valencia has been a shambles. Filled with a comedy of errors, such as hiring Gary Neville, with whom he had links due to Neville’s co-ownership of Salford City, another team Lim has invested in. If Lim thought that four-month reign was bad, imagine what he must have thought of their 2022/2023 campaign.

A team that less than 20 years before had been champions of Spain, they finished 2023 14th in La Liga, their lowest finish since 1986.

4 Arsenal

It has been a turbulent road for Arsenal’s Stan Kroenke. He paid £600 million to assume full control of Arsenal in 2018, but has not exactly been a popular figure since.

For many, Kroenke represented everything that was wrong with Arsenal. An owner with seemingly little ambition, little desire to improve the club's infrastructure, and an unwillingness to embrace change as the legendary manager Arsene Wenger petered out the rest of his tenure.

While there hasn’t been a first league title since 2004 or a first Champions League title in the club's history under Kroenke, Arsenal showed they were on the right trajectory in 2023, pushing Manchester City all the way while playing some excellent football under Mikel Arteta.

While some of the same frustration still remains, if Arsenal keep putting the results together, Kroenke's time may yet turn out to be a positive one.

3 Manchester United

While Manchester United may yet become the most expensive football team ever purchased, they currently find themselves the third-highest, after the Glazer family paid £800 million to acquire the club in 2005.

Although their early reign saw success on the pitch, the debt they put the club in was devastating. When Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, the foundations collapsed and The Red Devils have not been the same since. Terrible signings, no investment in the infrastructure, and a random array of managers has led to fans having enough of the Glazer ownership. It has gone as far as fans storming the pitch ahead of a game at home to Liverpool in 2021 in protest of their owners. You feel that if this proposed sale to Sheikh Jassim falls through, the outrage will be unlike any other.

2 AC Milan

The most recent purchase on this list, the Italian powerhouses were bought for a staggering £1 billion in August 2022 by the American investment firm RedBird Capital Partners. The new owners had a very clear mission statement: “We will support our talented players, coaches, and staff to deliver success on the pitch and allow our fans to share in the extraordinary experiences of this historic club.”

On the surface, it seemed the investment fund had purchased Milan at just the right time, as they were crowned champions of Serie A in 2022 just before the sale, ending their 11-year wait for a title. However, they fell back in their first full season with the new owners, finishing only fourth in 2023.

1 Chelsea

The most expensive football club in history. Arguably the most erratic. Todd Boehly became the owner of Chelsea for a staggering £4.25 billion after Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the club amidst his links with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Boehly's reign at the top of Chelsea has been an entertaining one but not successful in any stretch. In little over a year, Boehly has overseen four managers, the club's worst league finish since 1994, and broken the British transfer record twice! He has also revolutionised contract lengths, and at this rate, may start handing out lifetime contracts to his next signings.

No one can argue Boehly's desire to see his vision for Chelsea be successful, the money he is investing proves that, but the American's poor decision-making will lead to further question marks over whether he is capable of leading Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League anytime soon.