Sheffield United, the latest English club to fall into the clutches of American ownership

Sheffield United, founded in 1889, is going to change hands after reaching an agreement with an American consortium, COH Sports, which would have already received full authorization from the English league, as reported by the club in a recent statement.

Until now, the owner of Sheffield United was Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud, who took over 50% of the club in 2013 together with English businessman Kevin McCabe. In 2019, the Saudi prince was already the full owner of the club.

“Like all Sheffield United fans, we want to see the club continue to improve from its good start to the season,” said COH sports leaders Steven H. Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy. “We hope to complete the project as soon as possible.”

If the agreement becomes official before the end of the year, the options for the club to buy new players in the winter market would multiply. Therefore, the investment would not wait until next summer and, consequently, the chances of returning to the Premier a year after being relegated would increase considerably.

At this time, the Blades They are first in the English Championship, equivalent to the Spanish second division. A category in which the first two teams are automatically promoted. Those who finish between third and sixth place participate in a playoff tournament and the winner is promoted, just like in Spain.

If this happens, Sheffield United’s return to the Premier League would substantially increase the club’s income, which was $79 million in June 2023, the year in which they were promoted to the Premier League, according to the latest published accounts.

New American investor in England

Until it becomes official, this acquisition will mean a new American operation in England. In total, more than a third of the four major leagues now have some form of American ownership, reports Bloomberg.

To give an example, in the Premier League, there are eight American properties, either primary or secondary: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Southampton and Ipswich. In contrast, only five clubs have English ownership: Brighton, West Ham, Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Brentford.