Kieran Maguire: Aston Villa ‘competing against Barcelona and Real Madrid’ amid £747m talks
Aston Villa are competing against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid to get a foothold in the United States market.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris’ MLS master plan.
The Villa co-owners have long been linked with creating a franchise in the US’s top football league.
And ESPN reported last Friday (21 January) that the pair are in exclusive talks to bring the MLS to Las Vegas.
It is understood that the total cost of the deal, including the creation of a new stadium and training facilities, could run to £747million.
Maguire assessed whether Villa will be able to leverage Edens and Sawiris’ ambitions to create commercial opportunities across the pond.
“I think fans in the States will be looking to align their support with success,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“So if Villa deliver on the pitch, they’ll get attention from the US market. I think the MLS relationship could be useful for both clubs.
“Multi-club ownership has benefits for all concerns from what we’ve seen to date.
“But it will be a challenge to build interest simply because football is still a minority sport in the US.
“You’re competing in a fairly restricted market and you’re up against the likes of Man United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“There is a big interest in Mexican football too, and while the Premier League is popular, the focus is on the sneaky six.”
Villa have also established a feeder club relationship with Egyptian side ZED FC.
The chairman of ZED, Onsi Sawiris, is the nephew of Nassef.
In other news, Danny Mills suggests Aston Villa maye be ready to sell Tyrone Mings after source’s update.