Football may be America's sport but the game by that name actually played with the feet belongs to the world. Just look at all the attention and money the World Cup generated. So may be that's why Randolph Lerner, owner of the National Football League's Cleveland Browns, dug deep into his pockets and agreed to a £62.6 million ($118 million) bid for English soccer club Aston Villa plc on Monday, Aug. 14. Lerner sees dollar signs— or should I say pounds—in the Premier League soccer club. And why not? Europeans are rabid over soccer. Lerner hopes he can turn around that club both on and off the field, cultivating a lucrative bounty for himself. He can only look to the likes of European clubs such as England’s Manchester United, and FC Barcelona and Real Madrid of Spain—teams with a global following—of what his possible acquisition could become. It's no surprise that Manchester ($1.3 billion) and Real Madrid ($1 billion) are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 by value, according to a Forbes.com ranking. Barcelona, on the other hand, was so popular in its U.S. tour, it sold Giant Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., to the tune of 79,002 last Sunday in an exhibition match against the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. This was the second-largest crowd to watch a soccer match at Giants Stadium. Prior to that, Barcelona was able to draw more than 160,000 in its two matches in Los Angeles and Houston, both records at their venues. Aston Villa is barely on the same level as Barcelona. Like Lerner's Browns, Aston Villa is just a mediocre team, finishing 16th among 20 Premier League teams last year. Aston Villa last won the European Cup title in 1982. This past season Aston Villa finished just high enough to avoid relegation to the second league—luckily for Lerner, the NFL doesn't have a similar rule. So, maybe this club could be a diamond in the rough, but considering Lerner's seven-year tenure owning the Browns don't count on it.— Gerald Magpily
See story from The Deal
Continue reading below
