Look, they could have had Thaksin Shinawatra. But, if he had bought Liverpool, he might still be in power, given the EPL's popularity in Thailand.
I kept thinking, god, what odd prose (I haven't seen the word oligarch overused like that since my seventh-grade essay on Popes of the Middle Ages), until I got to the bottom and saw that it was translated from the German. Which answers another question as well. This story paints a picture of the Premiership as on the verge of being turned into a money-laundering and false-front operation by the Russian (Israeli, Iranian, etc) mafia. This may be the case, but it does slyly mention in the middle that the Bundesliga, the second-biggest league in Europe, has no such problems at all. Which again may be the case, but that explains the tone. I would think PWC would take extra steps to ensure that anyone buying into the Prem would have their finances in order, as organized crime investing heavily in a product tends to devalue that product. I would think.
As far as I understand it, the Bundesliga has strict financial rules about liquidity and debt. They can't pay the exorbitant salaries of England, Italy and Spain, but then again none of the clubs risk going broke. Given the state of some EPL club's finances, they are obvious targets for anyone with loads of cash to launder, er, spend.
Premiership clubs looking new, generous owners should be careful - for every Roman Abramovich, there seems to be at least one Vladimir Romanov.
Most supporters of clubs would have no scruples about where the money was coming from, if it guaranteed short term success a la Chelsea. It is certainly better (in their minds) than merging, moving or being relegated. But why, oh why, are none of these oligarchs showing any interest in Derby County? Fifty million quid in the red. That's one reason. Mid table in the Championship is another. But We Will Rise Again, like, er, Bolton or summat.
You know, the more I think about this story, the more it sounds like something out of a Warren Zevon song.
But which one? - Mister Bad Example - Lawyers Guns and Money, or - Werewolves of London?
Any of 'em. The Envoy, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, something in that range.
This report adds a Canadian to the list of interested parties: Habs owner George Gillett Jr.
