LONDON: English football club Aston Villa has announced that it has received significant amount of investments from Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris and the USA’s Fortress Investment Group co-owner, Wes Edens which have been approved by the EFL.
The agreement will ensure that the club’s present owner, Dr Tony Xia, will become co-chairman and remain on the board of directors.
“I am extremely pleased to have formed a strategic partnership with Nassef and Wes. We have a common goal of delivering future success for Aston Villa and I look forward to working together to achieve this aim.
“To have come so close to achieving promotion last season was a humbling experience. In finding such strong partners as Nassef and Wes we’re gearing up to fight again and bring back the success that this club deserves and we all so want to provide it with.
“The future is exciting on a number of fronts and I look forward to exploring further business collaborations.”, Xia said.
In a joint statement, Sawiris and Edens exuded confidence of Aston Villa’s future success.
“As lifelong football fans, we are excited and privileged to have become part of this great Club. We believe that together we bring business and sports experience that will help strengthen the Club to ensure Aston Villa can return to its rightful place in the upper echelons of English football.
“Our goal is to bring sustainable success to the Club, building on its rich history while respecting its loyal fan base and unique culture. We understand that we are stewards of Aston Villa on behalf of the fans and we take that responsibility seriously.
“We look forward to working with Dr Tony to undertake a thorough assessment and evaluation of the Club in the coming weeks and our priority is to strengthen the squads and structures ahead of the upcoming season and beyond.”, they commented.
Aston Villa’s debts had come up to a whopping 40 million pounds ($52 million) after their loss to Fulham in the Premier League qualifying final in May 2018, according to SportsPro Media.
The investments come at the right time as Forbes has estimated Sawiris’ net worth to be $6.7 billion whereas Edens has successfully co-owned NBA team, Milwaukee Bucks since 2014 and takes active interest in eSports initiatives.
