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Reuters - Billionaire soccer club buyers eye southern Europe
, Wednesday May 21 2008 By Elena Moya

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - Manchester United and Chelsea will be the centre of attention for millions around the world in Wednesday's Champions League final in Moscow, but soccer bankers have their eyes further south as they seek new opportunities to emulate the English clubs' success and cash in the profits.
Italy and Spain are set to become the next markets for international billionaire investors on a football buying spree, people familiar with the situation told Reuters, after many top English clubs, including the two in Wednesday's final, have already been taken over.
U.S. tycoon George Soros is interested in Italy's AS Roma, while a foreign group of investors talked to Spain's Mallorca last summer about a bid, two sources familiar with the situation said.
Valencia Chairman Juan Soler also met investors earlier this year about a possible sale of his majority stake, the club's second largest shareholder, Vicente Soriano, said publicly in February.
"Following all the interest in English clubs, buyers are looking further afield," said Richard Feigen, managing director at Seymour Pierce, a London-based investment bank that advised on the sale of Chelsea and Manchester City to Russian and Thai billionaires Roman Abramovich and Thaksin Shinawatra respectively.
"Spain and Italy are top of the list of the market that people are investigating," Feigen said.
Soaring television and commercial revenues over the past five years have attracted the fortunes of investment banks such as Morgan Stanley, which holds a stake in Paris St. Germain, wealthy individuals such as the Glazer family at Manchester United and Liverpool's Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and hedge funds such as Sisu Capital, owner of a stake in Coventry City.
MALLORCA
The Mediterranean calm and blue waters of Mallorca lured a group of foreign investors last year for the local top division soccer club, although the offer did not prosper, another person close to the situation said.
Mallorca Chairman Vicenc Grande has said he would not sell the club for less than 80 million euros ($126 million) to a foreign investor -- with a discount of about five million euros for a Spanish national.
Like many Spanish real estate entrepreneurs, Grande is facing falling values of his assets, and banks could force him to sell the club if he missed interest payments, the source said. However, Grande's regular payments have allowed him to gain some waivers on his debts, the source said.
"If the crisis worsens, maybe he'll have to sell," the source said. "Although that hasn't happened yet."
Mallorca F.C. declined to comment, while Valencia officials could not be reached.
BILLIONAIRES WELCOME?
Business owners say they can manage the clubs better than passionate fans as their decisions are less emotional.
"You can't manage sport with a heart, because you then make a mistake," Formula 1 chief Flavio Briatore, co-owner of London championship club Queens Park Rangers (QPR), said in a recent interview with Reuters.
"It's not a toy. As with any project, it requires time and investment, and it's fun to be part of a project," said Briatore, a Juventus fan.
The purchase of local soccer clubs by billionaire investors would be welcomed by Ferran Soriano, F.C. Barcelona's vice president of finance, as long as they did not overpay and create inflation in the market for players.
"There are two types of buyers," Soriano told Reuters. "The Glazer type, who take decisions with a business logic, and the Abramovich type, whose decisions are based on his personal fortune. That's a problem because it's broken the market and has created inflation."
But some fans do not want to see their clubs become a plaything, as banners showed when Manchester City fans protested over the possible dismissal of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
"I see (takeovers) as clubs losing their roots," former Barcelona and Chelsea player Albert Ferrer said.
"Clubs can't become toys, football has enough to avoid being turned into a toy. Clubs are feelings, for certain colours, a city, and you can't lose that."
High-profile purchases can bring new wealth, players and fame. "When I was in Spain a couple of weeks ago, I was asked about QPR -- in Spain!" Briatore said.
Through club co-owner Alejandro Agag, another Formula 1 investor, he recently met Real Madrid Chairman Ramon Calderon, and Briatore said, "There will be opportunities to work with Real Madrid," Briatore said.
"Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's business, sometimes it's both," he added. (Editing by Quentin Bryar) Guardian