{"id":7045,"date":"2019-05-13T14:44:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T14:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blnebeuk.serveur04.com\/blog\/?p=7045"},"modified":"2019-05-15T11:51:23","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T11:51:23","slug":"celebrities-who-owned-football-clubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.netbet.co.uk\/blog\/2019\/05\/13\/celebrities-who-owned-football-clubs\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Celebrities Who Owned Sports Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Over the years, many famous faces have taken over football clubs. Usually it\u2019s those with sentimental attachments to their old hometowns, or who fancy dipping their toe in the business world. But how often does it all work out? Here\u2019s a few of the biggest names in showbiz who\u2019ve splashed out and bought up football teams.<\/p>\n

Russell Crowe \u2013 South Sydney Rabbitohs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Having supported the team since he was a child and having lived in Australia for most of his life (he was actually born in New Zealand) Crowe was clearly feeling patriotic when he purchased shares in the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2006. His influence has helped the club sign big names like Greg Inglis, and he has continued to make appearances with the team at major events.<\/p>\n

Alan Sugar \u2013 Tottenham Hotspur<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sugar (or Lord Sugar, as we now must call him) famously teamed up with Terry Venables in 1991 to buy Tottenham Hotspur, remaining a shareholder with the club for another 16 years. His tenure is not remembered particularly fondly by fans, many of whom saw him as primarily concerned with money and not the game \u2013 something Sugar later freely admitted, with Jurgen Klinsmann labelling him \u201ca man without honour.\u201d For his part, Sugar has spoken unfavourably of his time at Spurs, calling it \u201ca waste of my life\u201d. Talk about sour grapes.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Lopez \u2013 NFL Dolphins<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Both long-time football fans, Jennifer Lopez and her then-husband Mark Anthony bought a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins in 2009. Following their split in 2014, it seems that Mark Anthony was the one who got the team ownership in their divorce settlement. Not a bad consolation prize for divorcing J-Lo, all things considered.<\/p>\n

Stephen Fry and Delia Smith \u2013 Norwich City<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Possibly the two most unexpected names on this list, Fry and Smith \u2013 both long-time Norwich City supporters \u2013 have a long-standing history with the club. Smith is a majority shareholder in the club while Fry became its director in 2010, stepping down in 2016 to be replaced by Smith\u2019s nephew Thomas, a former civil servant. Infamously, Smith made headlines in 2005 by emerging onto the pitch during a losing game against Manchester United and called for \u201ca twelfth man\u201d to join the team. She fiercely denied reports that she was drunk at the time, and we believe her (right?).<\/p>\n

Jon Bon Jovi \u2013 Philadelphia Soul<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bon Jovi founded and held a majority stake in the Philadelphia Soul football team in 2004, appearing in numerous television adverts for the team and taking an active role in the running of the club. Bon Jovi stressed his desire to make the game more accessible for everyone, highlighting the cost of tickets and emphasising the need for players to be players to be role models for children. After the team won the AFL championship in 2008, he stepped down to pursue other interests.<\/p>\n

Homer Simpson \u2013 Denver Broncos<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Okay, this one\u2019s fictional but too funny not to mention. Who can forget that classic episode of The Simpsons, “You Only Move Twice”, in which Homer expresses his long-held wish to own the Dallas Cowboys? After his super-villain boss Hank Scorpio seizes control of the east coast of the USA, he obligingly purchases Homer a football team as a parting gift. Unfortunately, it\u2019s not quite the squad Homer had in mind \u2013 it\u2019s the Denver Broncos. Marge can\u2019t see the problem, but Homer, with a sigh, tells her she just doesn\u2019t understand football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years, many famous faces have taken over football clubs. Usually it\u2019s those with sentimental attachments to their old hometowns, or who fancy dipping their toe in the business world. But how often does it all work out? Here\u2019s a few of the biggest names in showbiz who\u2019ve splashed out and bought up football […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1804,1803,1801,1806,1805,1404,1802,1807,560],"class_list":["post-7045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-alan-sugar","tag-delia-smith","tag-football-teams","tag-homer-simpson","tag-norwich-city","tag-spurs","tag-stephen-fry","tag-the-simpsons","tag-tottenham-hotspur"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSix Celebrities Who Owned Sports Teams - NetBet UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Owning a football club is the stuff of many people's daydreams. 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