Key Takeaways:
-Multi-club ownership (MCO) is reshaping global football, with 41.7% of Big Five league clubs now part of MCO groups
-Success in MCO hinges not just on scale, but on emotionally connecting with each club’s local fan base through content
-AI-driven content strategies enable MCOs to tell unique stories at scale—boosting loyalty, engagement, and global growth
It’s easy to forget now, but Málaga CF was one of the hottest names in European Football in the early 2010s. After finishing fourth in La Liga in the 2011-12 season, Málaga made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League the following year, beating teams like AC Milan and Porto along the way. Then, as so often happens, came a steady decline. In 2018, Málaga was relegated from La Liga, and has barely made headlines since.
Until now. According to reports, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which owns Premier League giants Liverpool, and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), Paris Saint-Germain’s owners, are both interested in purchasing Málaga. FSG is considering other options as well, having conducted due diligence on multiple Spanish clubs over the past year as it seems intent on joining the multi-club ownership (MCO) trend.
How Football Embraced Multi-Club Ownership
MCO, defined as having control and/or decisive influence over more than one sports organization , is not a new phenomenon. In the US, multi-franchise sports holding companies have been common since the 1990s; FSG, for example, owns the MLB’s Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL, NASCAR’s RFK Racing, and TGL’s Boston Common Golf, alongside Liverpool.
In recent years, the football world has followed suit, and MCO has become an attractive business model worldwide. The numbers are staggering:
-Between 2015 and 2023, the number of clubs that became part of MCO groups jumped from 62 to 301
-The number of MCO groups has more than doubled – from 58 to 124 – between 2018 and 2023
-In the 2024-2025 season, MCOs owned stakes in 41.7% of clubs in the Big Five European leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1)
The MCO model in football was pioneered by Red Bull, which purchased three teams in the 2000s to create global brand awareness. But it was City Football Group (CFG), founded by the Abu Dhabi United Group, who ushered in the modern era of multi-club ownership, acquiring 12 clubs spread across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia since 2013.
Here’s a short overview of some of the main players in the MCO landscape:
City Football Group
Established: 2013 Crown jewel: Manchester City Number of clubs: 12 across five continents, including Girona, EC Bahia, and New York City FC Corporate home: UK
Red Bull
Established: 2005 Crown jewel: RB Leipzig Number of clubs: Five across four continents, including New York Red Bulls Corporate home: Austria
Eagle Football Holdings
Established: 2022 Crown jewel: Crystal Palace Number of clubs: Four, including Botafogo and Olympique Lyonnais Corporate home: US
The Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Established: 1971 Crown jewel: Newcastle United Number of clubs: Six, including five teams in Saudi Arabia Corporate home: Saudi Arabia
Global Football Holdings
Established: 2015 Crown jewel: FC Augsburg Number of clubs: Six Corporate home: US
Balancing Act: Why MCO Success Depends on Local Connection
It's not hard to see the value of MCO. From a talent development perspective, owning several teams allows MCOs to create their own farm system and enables inter-club movement. Commercially, MCOs can leverage their reach for global sponsorships, like City Football Group's deal with Puma. Plus, there are other potential benefits, such as data sharing and risk diversification.
There are also challenges. One of the main issues is pushback from fans of teams that function as "satellite" clubs around the MCO's crown jewel. For these fan bases, the local football club is often the focal point of regional history, culture, and identity – not another asset in the portfolio of an international consortium.
One way MCO groups can build trust and deepen local connections is by treating each club as a unique narrative worth telling. That starts with content creation – not just volume, but stories that reflect each club’s identity, values, and fan culture. When every team in the network feels seen and heard, the MCO model becomes more than just efficient; it becomes emotionally resonant.
To deliver that at scale, MCOs need technology that can generate personalized, platform-ready content across all clubs, languages, and formats – from historic highlights to real-time reactions. AI-powered sports content creation solutions make this possible, enabling groups to celebrate the distinct voice of every club while driving growth across the portfolio. After all, winning loyalty starts with the right story – and the right story begins with the right content strategy.
Actionable Insights
–Audit your narrative diversity: Review your content across all clubs in your group or portfolio. Are you telling distinct stories that reflect each club’s identity, or just echoing the top brand?
–Localize with purpose: Go beyond translating language—translate culture. Collaborate with local fans, creators, or historians to surface authentic storylines that matter in each community
–Invest in scalable tech: Explore AI tools that allow you to quickly produce personalized, platform-specific content across multiple clubs, languages, and formats—without sacrificing authenticity
