Rangers takeover: 49ers promise to attract better sponsors and signings
The San Francisco 49ers will lend a “global gravitas and awareness” to Rangers that helps them attract more lucrative commercial deals and better signings, says the Scottish club’s new vice-chairman Paraag Marathe.
A US consortium spearheaded by private healthcare businessman Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the NFL franchise which also owns Premier League side Leeds United, paid £75m for a majority stake in Rangers this month.
“The San Francisco 49ers are one of the biggest sports brands in the world, and certainly one of the most recognisable,” said Marathe, president of 49ers Enterprises and chairman of Leeds.
“Rangers is a gem of European football, and what the 49ers can bring is a certain global gravitas and awareness to Rangers.
“Now all of a sudden Rangers are in that same sentence. It matters when we are out with commercial partners who care about how many times they are going to be mentioned. That has monetary value.
“It has helped us with Leeds. Selfishly speaking, it actually helps the 49ers too, bringing it more into the conversation globally. I am already seeing some of the early returns. There is a certain extra gravitas that helps us in the recruitment of players.”
Rangers and Leeds won’t fail Uefa rules
Rangers have been Scottish champions a record 55 times but just once since 2011, a period in which they have battled through administration but been left trailing by Old Firm rivals Celtic.
The 49ers were last month valued at more than $8.5bn (£6.2bn), a figure exceeded in sport only by last week’s agreement by Mark Walter to purchase the LA Lakers for $10bn.
Marathe also insisted that steps had been taken to ensure Rangers and Leeds would not fall foul of Uefa rules on multi-club ownership should they both qualify for European competition.
Those rules this week forced Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor to sell his 43 per cent stake in the Premier League club as his Eagle Football Group also owns French side Lyon.
“We have checked the box with those that we need to to make sure that if and when there was ever a situation where there was even the perception of a conflict, we would solve that,” he said. “That has already been solved, so we are good there.”