How 'GOAT' Tom Brady inspired new Birmingham City star upon signing

Martin Macdonald

• 16 Oct 2025 16:00 CDT
• 3 min read

News

It seems Tom Brady is having an inspiration impact on the players at Birmingham City.

In August of 2023, the NFL and Super Bowl icon became minority owner in the English side in partnership with majority owners Knighthead Capital Management LLC, while he also received a seat in a new advisory board at the club.

"Tom Brady joining the Birmingham City team is a statement of intent. We are setting the bar at world class," Knighthead co-founder Tom Wagner said at the time.

"Tom is both investing [as well as] committing his time and extensive expertise.

"As chair of the advisory board Tom will have a direct impact on the club. The men's, women's, and academy teams are going to benefit from [his] knowledge.

"The goal that Tom has committed to is to make Birmingham City a respected leader in nutrition, health, wellness, and recovery across the world of football."

Birmingham are looking to spend to ensure a return to the Premier League as quickly as possible and former chief scout, now head of recruitment, Joe Carnall, has been vital to their transfer strategy.

While other clubs around Europe focus on youth, Birmingham have used data and analytics to identify more experienced players who could potentially flourish in the Championship.

The average age of their summer recruits was 26.

They are 16th in the table at the moment, but the new campaign is still in its infancy and they are only three points adrift of the playoffs.

Brady inspiring Birmingham players

Marvin Ducksch was a marquee signing for the club in the summer and he has revealed what really sealed the deal on the transfer from Werder Bremen - a call from the 'GOAT' himself Tom Brady.

"When I arrived for the medical and the contract signing, they handed me the phone, and I was allowed to speak with Tom Brady," the German said on the Auf der Linie podcast.

"That inspired me even more to speak with the GOAT in person. That was when I finally knew I had made the right decision."

Brady and Knighthead vow to keep on spending to reach Premier League dream and he wants to emulate the success of Wrexham, owned by fellow Americans Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

“We’ve got to (keep spending),” the famous quarterback told The Sports Agents podcast.

“We’ve got to keep up with one another. Wrexham have, I’d say, done an incredible job. I mean, you can’t be anything but excited about what they’ve done for that club… I’m so impressed by Wrexham. What they do on the pitch, off the pitch, and again, they’re in a great position to succeed as well.”

Over the last two years, Birmingham City have spent £43.2 million on transfers.

In August of 2024, while they were still in League One, they smashed the division transfer record to sign Jay Stansfield from Fulham for an initial fee of £15m.

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