The five most hated owners in football

Robin Bairner

• 7 Oct 2021 15:28 BST
• 5 min read

Newcastle are poised to see the back of owner Mike Ashley, with a Saudi Arabian-led takeover on the verge of completion.

Ashley bought Newcastle in 2007 and over the intervening period has become a figure of hate on Tyneside.

The club have bounced between the Championship and the Premier League, mostly remaining in the lower reaches of the top division without any particular ambition to achieve any better.

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Perhaps what is remarkable about Ashley’s relationship with Newcastle fans is that he is disliked by the overwhelming majority, not just a dissatisfied rabble.

Newcastle are one of the Premier League’s best supported clubs, yet their army of fans have not been rewarded for their loyalty with any significant investment in the club. Given they are owned by one of Britain’s richest businessmen, this is seen as unforgivable.

Ashley has rarely shown any interest in the club, highlighted by their summer transfer business. Although they saw Andy Carroll, Christian Atsu, Florian Lejeune and Yoshinori Muto leave the club, only Joe Willock was added to Steve Bruce’s roster.

Manager Steve Bruce has been left with little to play with, and a poor run of form sees Newcastle languishing in the relegation zone.

Fans believe a more invested owner would sack Bruce, and it may well be that the former Manchester United defender is the first casualty of Newcastle’s new era.

Ashley, though, is certainly not Europe’s only controversial owner.

The Glazers, Manchester United

Being the owners of one of the biggest clubs in world football certainly does not protect you from supporter dissatisfaction as Man Utd’s Glazer family have discovered.

At the beginning of May, there were unprecedented scenes as the club’s Premier League fixture with Liverpool had to be postponed due to violent protests from fans, who were critical of the club’s plans to enter the European Super League. Some supporters even made it onto the pitch, despite Old Trafford being closed due to Covid issues.

Ever since they took over the club in 2005, there have been protests against the American owners, with protests against the manner in which they bought the club. So strong was the feeling against the Glazer family, a new club, FC United of Manchester, was formed.

The investment in the playing squad has not been sufficient to keep pace with Manchester City, and the only trophies that United have won since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson remain the 2016 FA Cup and the 2017 League Cup. It is a dreadfully poor return for a club with such a history.

Waldemar Kita, Nantes

Nantes have been owned by Polish businessman Waldemar Kita since 2007 but over that period supporters believe that the club has lost its DNA as one of the most attractive to watch in France, with a strong emphasis on youth development.

Indeed, instability at the club has been rife over his 14-year reign, with coaches coming and going in a seemingly relentless manner. Fans have protested against the ‘Kita Circus’, even going so far as to interrupt Raymond Domenech’s first training session with the first team in 2020/21 with big top music played over a loudspeaker. Incidentally, the former France boss lasted only eight matches and did not win a single one of those.

Prior to a playoff match with Toulouse last season, fans symbolically brought a coffin marked ‘FC Kita’ to the stadium.

Peter Lim, Valencia

Valencia may historically be one of the giants of La Liga, but Singaporean businessman Peter Lim is running them into the ground.

They have the smallest wage bill in the Spanish top flight due to their dire financial position, although they have made a relatively bright start to the 2021/22 season.

Nevertheless, Lim continues to anger fans with his lack of ambition and long-term vision, and infuriating them with derogatory comments.

“I can do 101 things to make money, and money that I believe I can better control,” he told the Financial Times. “This is something quite nice. I wake up, I own a football club and I see what happens next. It’s nothing more.”

Meanwhile, Valencia have a half-finished stadium on which construction work was halted in 2008, while their debts continue to mount.

“Valencia have never won the Champions League and [the past leaders] wanted to win it at all costs? You have rocks in your head,” Lim added.

So does Lim if he thinks this is the way to win over the public.

Dietmar Hopp

Although Dietmar Hopp’s involvement at Hoffenheim is by no means as nefarious as some of the other names on this list, he’s still considered one of the most controversial figures in German football.

After making his wealth in personal computing, the businessman decided to invest in his childhood club, Hoffenheim, in a bid to get them promoted from the lowest tier of German football.

Since then, Hopp has invested no less than €350 million on the club, including €100 million on a new stadium. Which may seem par for the course in other European countries, but is undoubtedly frowned upon in Germany, where club ownership is all but protected by law.

As such, Hopp has come to represent a vocal minority of club officials and potential investors that would like to rip up German football’s tradition and as such has found himself under constant attack from rival fans up and down the country.