Is it a good idea to buy a soccer club?

Analysis: in a highly unusual situation, two of the world's biggest soccer clubs Manchester United and Liverpool, might be up for sale. Why is that?

Recent weeks have seen a lot of change in the world of soccer and it’s all a little bit unusual. Manchester United owners, the Glazer family, have confirmed they are open to a full sale of the club, while Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has also confirmed that the club, owned by Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is "exploring a sale".

In May 2022, Chelsea Football Club was sold to a consortium led by an investment group for £2.5 billion. In January 2022, Southampton confirmed the club's takeover by investment firm Sport Republic. In October 2021, the Premier League confirmed the sale of Newcastle United to a Saudi Arabia-based consortium, in a takeover worth more than £300 million.

"When clubs go up for sale it's actually quite unusual that they'll say that it's up for sale," says Dr Robert Butler, lecturer in UCC's Department of Economics and expert in sports economics. "Because the minute something goes officially for sale, the value is affected. They always like to at least present the illusion that they're not for sale, so that if somebody wants to buy these assets, they have to pay a premium, right?"

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From RTÉ Morning Ireland, journalist Michael Crick discusses the potential sale of Manchester United and the departure of Ronaldo

"They're rarely for sale. They're rarely like a house. I'm talking about the elite clubs here, because the