Football 39n3s

Sixteen Premier League Clubs Are Part of Multi-Club Systems Like Crystal Palace 2e1p4r

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By
Sushan Chakraborty
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Sushan Chakraborty Sports Editor

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Published18 hours ago on June 13, 2025

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Crystal Palace are one of the vast majority of Premier League teams currently in a multi-club network. 

According to TBR Football, as many as 16 of 20 Premier League teams share owners with other clubs across the world.

This multi-club ownership strategy decreases the investor’s risk. However, it could also have unwanted consequences, which were most recently demonstrated through the Crystal Palace / Olympique Lyon conflict.

Crystal Palace Could Face Europa League Disqualification Due to Multi-Club Ownership Conflict 1g6o

Crystal Palace secured the first major trophy of their history in 2024/25, beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final. The historic win also secured their place in the group stage of the 2025/26 Europa League season. However, shortly after the dust settled, they faced an unforeseen disqualification threat.

John Textor, who owns a minority stake at Crystal Palace, is a majority shareholder of Olympique Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League. As per UEFA multi-club ownership rules, no individual or entity may have control or influence over more than one club in a European competition.

Palace could have avoided this mess had they demonstrated their compliance with UEFA’s multi-club ownership rule by March 1. But they understandably did not expect to go all the way in the FA Cup. Now, the best way to ensure Crystal Palace’s Europa League participation is to sell Textor’s stake by the June 27 cut-off.

Crystal Palace have seemingly found a saviour in New York Jets co-owner Woody Johnson, who wants to buy Textor out. With clubs like Brighton & Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest urging UEFA to sanction Palace, it will be interesting to see how the story pans out.

The Eagles are bearing the brunt of it this season. But as per TBR’s report, 15 more clubs, all part of multi-club networks, could face something similar down the road.

Complete List of 16 Premier League Teams That Are Part of Multi-Club Networks 5c6u1d

Here are all 16 Premier League teams that are in multi-club networks:

#1 Arsenal 1f443o

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke also owns Major League Soccer side Colorado Rapids.

Rapids fans have long been accusing Kroenke of neglecting the club, citing a lack of investment. Despite the Kroenke link, the two clubs do not share a great relationship and possibly do not share resources.

#2 Aston Villa g413m

Aston Villa owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris own multiple football teams through their holding company, V Sports. They own a 29% stake in Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes. They, however, reduced their stake in the club to allow both Villa and Vitoria to compete in the 2023/24 Europa League season.

V Sports also has a 25% stake in Spanish third-tier side Real Union. According to reports, the holding company could add the proposed MLS expansion team in Vegas to their portfolio.

Atairos, which is backed by Premier League media rights holder Sky Sports’ owners, Comcast, owns a 30% stake in Villa.

#3 Bournemouth 235q4v

Texan billionaire Bill Foley has added his Bournemouth ownership to the Black Knight Football Club — a global multi-club football ownership group. This group is led by Foley and Cannae Holdings.

The Black Knight Football Club owns 100% of Bournemouth and New Zealand’s Auckland FC. They have majority stakes in Portuguese top-flight side Moreirense and Ligue 1 outfit Lorient, and minority stakes in Scottish side Hibernian.

#4 Brentford 19x7

Brentford owner Matthew Benham used to own Danish side Midtjylland through his Best Intentions Analytics company until 2023.

He re-entered the multi-club model by acquiring Spanish third-division side Merida in May 2025.

Brighton & Hove Albion is owned by Tony Bloom. He used to own a majority stake in Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise. However, he reduced his stake to just 25% to allow both teams to compete in the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023.

Bloom also has a non-voting stake in Scottish side Hearts.

#6 Chelsea 52z1a

Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s BlueCo purchased French team Strasbourg for around £65 million in 2023.

They have regularly exchanged resources, with Mamadou Sarr being the most recent player to move to Stamford Bridge from Stade de la Meinau Strasbourg.

#7 Crystal Palace 1s5r45

Ares Management, which owns a 34% stake in Atletico Madrid, is a major lender to John Textor’s Eagle Football Group. Interestingly, Chelsea borrowed $500 million for Ares in 2023.

Eagle Football Group not only owns Crystal Palace but also Lyon in Ligue 1. They are also the majority shareholders of Belgian side RWD Molenbeek.

Another Palace shareholder, David Blitzer, co-owns Bundesliga side Augsburg and has interests in Brondby, Estoril Praia, Beveren, Alcorcon, and Den Haag.

#8 Everton 1u1i6b

Dan Friedkin entered the Premier League in December 2024, owning Everton through The Friedkin Group.

The Friedkin Group also own Italian powerhouse AS Roma and French side AS Cannes. Under their ownership, Roma have won the Europa Conference League in 2023, but have faced Financial Fair Play issues. The owners also came under fire after they sacked Daniele De Rossi from his managerial post.

#9 Leeds United y2z6j

Leeds United’s majority owner, 49er Enterprises, is backed by the NFL team San Francisco 49ers. The company recently took over Scottish side Rangers. More acquisitions could be on the cards.

Red Bull, who are associated with eight football clubs worldwide, owns a minority stake in Leeds.

#10 Liverpool r416o

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have a layered ownership structure. RedBird Capital, FSG’s biggest shareholder, owns AC Milan.

Arctos, who own a 5% stake in FSG, have 12.5% ownership of Paris Saint-Germain and a minority stake in Atalanta. Considering Liverpool have faced PSG and AC Milan in the Champions League, the FSG model does not violate UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

#11 Manchester City 2x3638

Manchester City are owned by Abu Dhabi Investment Group. Currently, there are 12 teams under the City Football Group umbrella — 8 in which they have controlling stakes, and a minority stake in 4.

These are Man City, Troyes, Melbourne City, New York City, Montevideo Torque City, Lommel, Girona, Shenzhen Peng City, Yokohama F. Marinos, Palermo, and Bahia.

Last season, City placed Girona in a blind trust to avoid UEFA sanctions after the club qualified for the Champions League.

#12 Manchester United 6z5z5m

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS oversee footballing operations at Manchester United. They also own Nice in Ligue 1 and Swiss team Lausanne Sport.

Last season, the ownership group had to put Nice into a blind trust as they got into the Europa League. Had they failed to meet the deadline, Nice would not have been able to compete alongside Man Utd.

#13 Newcastle United 4ie

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns Newcastle United and holds interests in a plethora of other clubs across the world. They own Saudi Pro League’s Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr — the four biggest teams in the league.

Several other Saudi clubs are connected to the Magpies through the PIF route.

#14 Nottingham Forest 1r3x4l

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis also owns Greek side Olympiacos and Rio Ave of Portugal.

Former Arsenal Sporting Director Edu will reportedly take up a global position to oversee Marinakis’ multi-club operation.

#15 Sunderland 1d3g52

Sunderland are co-owned by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Juan Sartori via Bia Sports Group. Louis-Dreyfus has also inherited a small interest in Ligue 1 side Marseille, courtesy of his father.

Satori, meanwhile, is on the board of Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, which is owned by his father-in-law, Len Blavatnik. If Monaco and Sunderland qualify for the same European competition one day, UEFA will undoubtedly put them under the microscope.

#16 West Ham United 715sw

Daniel Kretinsky owns about 27% of West Ham United. He is also a 40% stakeholder in his boyhood club, Sparta Prague.

There will be a conflict of interest if they both qualify for the same European competition.