American rapper A$AP Rocky is the next celebrity rumoured to be interested in investing in an EFL club, and it’s Tranmere Rovers.
There is wide speculation an investment group led by celebrity lawyer Joe Tacopina, which includes Rocky, wants to buy an 80% stake in the Birkenhead side.
When asked about the timeframe for the investment, Tranmere owner Mark Palios simply answered. “Asap.”
If it comes off, the deal follows the purchase of Wrexham by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney who turned their attention to ‘soccer’ with the acquisition of Wrexham. The club have since been promoted to League 1, with a spin off docuseries, that put the Welsh club on the map globally. It’s thought a similar money spinning style behind the scenes filming would be part of the deal at Tranmere.
Looking back, celebrity investment is nothing new to the EFL, going right back to 1976, when Elton John bought Watford.
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The USA is getting in on the football act. Eleven of the 20 Premier League clubs have American involvement, Bournemouth even have investment from ‘Adonis Creed’ (Micheal B. Jordan) who was part of an investment group headed by Bill Foley.
Liverpool have had celebrity investment since 2011. LeBron James, one of the NBA’s biggest ever stars has been a minority stakeholder for 13 years, with special ‘LeBron’ merchandise and kits being produced in recent years.
Alongside James, other American sports icons such as NFL stars Tom Brady and J.J. Watt have also invested into Birmingham City and Burnley.
American celebrity investment seems to be a recurring theme in the English game.
Financial expert Frank Dunne has tackled this question: “With these guys, I think the acid test is whether they will still be around in five years’ time, whether it will matter to them on an emotional level.
“If you’ve seen it in the Wrexham program. I mean, okay, they’re actors, they’re famous or whatever, but you can see that basically, those guys are consumed by the reality of Wrexham, the ups and downs, the day to day, the managers, the team performance. They’re absolutely consumed by it.”
The promotion and relegation system allows easy entry points for Celebrities to invest a smaller amount of money, then grow the brand through performance on the pitch.
Dunne commented: “US sports leagues don’t have relegation and promotion, so for Americans to get their head around it, that’s the reason it draws in celebrities.
“British football, has got four divisions to choose from, and you can pick up some really, really cheap bargains at the lower levels of those leagues.”
But can these opportunities give these stars a way to grow or repair their image in a market they may not have touched?
Dunne said: “They don’t need too much additional promoting. Most of them, the successful ones, the best pop singers in the world and the best actors, they’ve got a pretty good level of visibility.
“But what these things can do if you buy into European football, is it can take your name, your image and your presence into parts of the world that you may not reach.
“So, it does provide another way to reach people around the world that might not already know you, but I don’t think they need to do this.”
Harlem-born rapper A$AP Rocky may not be well known IN Birkenhead, but if his investment improves on-field performance, he could become a Tranmere hero, prompting fans to take more of an interest in his music listen to his music, generating more streams and in-turn, more money.
Frank Dunne said: “I think a lot of these are just kind of trinkets and baubles and a low-cost way of spending a bit of their disposable cash.
“However, these owners do invest in their clubs, but obviously the proof is in the pudding in these things, it’s not easy in football to just buy results.”
