English Premier League: Redknapp voices his displeasure over foreign ownership
Tottenham’s first team manager, Harry Redknapp has come out and made his frustration public over the currently emerging trend of foreign ownership in the English Premier League. This is not the first time a respected footballing
individual like Harry Redknapp has come out in favor of local ownership but it is something that has been slowly gathering pace as far as football in England is concerned. The discussion that revolves around whether foreign ownership in the English Premier
League clubs has come to the fore front yet again this season due to the troubles that are being faced by Liverpool F.C.
The past two weeks have been filled with news about the Merseyside club’s on-going court battles with regard to their American owners and potential buyers. It all looks to be settled now as far as Liverpool are concerned but whether
the court struggle leaves a permanent mark on the Reds legacy as the most successful team in England still remains to be seen. Not only that, this controversial off-the-field saga has been accompanied by Liverpool’s tumultuous start to the English Premier
League season. Currently, Roy Hodgson’s team sits at the 18th place spot in the Premier League table.
Tottenham, who are owned by English National Investment Company which is controlled by Joseph Lewis. However, Lewis himself does not occupy the chairman’s post at Hotspurs; it is his trusted associate Daniel Levy who holds that
prestigious position at the White Hart Lane. Levy himself is a British national just like his compatriot Joseph Lewis.
Tottenham might be under “British ownership” but other clubs in the English Premier League haven’t been that lucky. One of the biggest names in world football as well as English football, Manchester United are owned by the Glazer
family who are all American nationals. On the other hand, Manchester City are owned by Sheikh Mansour, Sheikh is a UAE national. Other clubs English clubs such as, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Fulham and West Ham United are all owned by non-British nationals.
Harry expressed his discontent over this situation by saying that in the future, Premier League matches might be played all over the world rather than just in England. He said, "what can one do when an American takes over a certain
club and then wants the team to play some of their matches in Texas or somewhere else?" Redknapp further added that, "if there is revenue of millions of pounds to be made in a team’s match in Russia or Honk Kong or China or Japan, the owners will opt for it
one way or another."
Elaborating on his apprehensions regarding foreign ownership, Harry went on to say that Premier League games will be played in foreign countries down the road. He said that, foreign businessmen do not buy English Premiership clubs
because they love the club as it is, they invest because they want to see a return on it. Adding fuel to the fire on the Liverpool case, Harry said that Liverpool’s new owners are not buying Liverpool because they love Liverpool as a city or a club or because
they watched Liverpool as little kids and bought the club’s merchandise. He said that they are buying the club because they can make money out of it.
British ownership is slowly and surely fading out of the English Premier League, Harry Redknapp further said that the British business men are becoming too clever in their dealings and that is why they don’t buy football clubs.
Tottenham’s manager said that his club’s former owner, Alan Sugar once said that no one wants to throw their money at a football club and then watch people shouting abuse at the owner as it happens on most occasions when the team’s results go from bad to worse.
He concluded by stating that Liverpool’s previous owners invested 140 million pounds in the club but they are now the despised people in all of Merseyside, no one would want that. There have been repeated calls by renowned people
in English football towards the Football Association, so that English football’s governing body can work towards preventing such foreign takeovers from going through in the first place. Up till now the F.A have not done anything to put a lid on such activities.
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