Hollywood turns its attention to English soccer

"Tom Brady, co-owner of Birmingham City, before a match at Wembley in April 2025.Catherine Ivill (Getty Images) In November 2025, former American football player Tom Brady appeared in a Birmingham City promotional video looking at models of a 62,000-seat stadium. The $3.35 billion project includes 12 structures shaped like industrial chimneys. Brady has been a minority shareholder since August 2023. Rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg became a co-owner of Swansea City in July 2025."

"And in Wrexham, actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the team in February 2021 for $2.5 million. Four years later, it is seeking investors with a valuation of $475 million a 19,000% increase. These are not isolated cases. As of 2025, 11 of the 20 Premier League clubs are majority-owned by American proprietors. In the Championship, the second tier of the English league pyramid, nine teams have North American capital."

American actors, athletes, and businessmen are investing in British lower-league clubs and producing successful docuseries. Tom Brady, a minority shareholder in Birmingham City since August 2023, appeared in a November 2025 promotional video viewing models of a planned 62,000-seat stadium featuring 12 industrial-chimney-shaped structures and a $3.35 billion price tag. Snoop Dogg became a co-owner of Swansea City in July 2025. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham in February 2021 for $2.5 million; four years later the club sought investors at a $475 million valuation. As of 2025, 11 Premier League clubs are majority American-owned and nearly a third of clubs across the top four divisions have American ownership. The trend began with Malcolm Glazer’s 2005 purchase of Manchester United and has spread downward because elite-level clubs have become prohibitively expensive; the Championship offers historic clubs at lower prices and promotion–relegation acts as a speculative accelerator. Sheffield United sold in December 2024 for $180 million.

Read at english.elpais.com