Bayern Munich old boys in takeover of Portuguese top-flight club
Former Bayern Munich footballers Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, Lucas Hernandez and Yann Sommer have become part-owners of Portuguese top-flight club Estrela Amadora.
The quartet are part of a majority takeover of the Lisbon-based outfit fronted by Johannes Mosmang, a former player liaison at German giants Bayern.
The €40m deal for 90 per cent of Estrela Amadora, funded by capital from investment groups ADvantage and LEAD, was announced by the club today.
“Estrela Amadora is a historic Portuguese football club, with deep roots in Amadora, a very unique identity and a passionate community,” said Mosmang, who has become president.
“It is also a club with a very special characteristic: ownership of its own stadium. We are very motivated to begin this new chapter and build, in a disciplined and sustainable way, a project that the fans, the community and everyone who is part of Estrela can be proud of.”
Tech firm the KI Group is described as a strategic partner in the takeover. International law firm Taylor Wessing advised the buyers on the transaction.
Estrela Amadora finshed 15th of 18 teams last season, having returned to the top division in 2023 following a rebirth and rise up the leagues.
Muller, Hummels, Hernandez and Sommer join footballer club owners
Forward Muller, 36, scored 150 goals in more than 500 games for Bayern and earned 131 caps for Germany. He now plays in Major League Soccer for Vancouver Whitecaps.
Defender Hummels, 37, played for Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Roma and Germany before retiring last year. Swiss goalkeeper Sommer, 37, spent three years at Bayern and joined Club Brugge this summer.
Hernandez, 30, is a key figure in the Paris Saint-Germain team that has won back-to-back Champions League titles and was part of the France squad at this year’s World Cup.
The explosion in earning potential for top players this century has seen some move into club ownership, most notably David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe.
Former England captain is a founder co-owner of MLS team Inter Miami, while Ronaldo acquired a stake in Spanish side Almeria earlier this year and Mbappe majority owns French second division club Caen.
Portuguese clubs are attractive to investors as the league has high technical quality and a tradition of developing and selling on players at significant profit.