85: Matt Bonass on Why Athletes Are Investing In Football Club

85: Matt Bonass on Why Athletes Are Investing In Football Club

From What The Footie Podcast by What The Footie

May 27, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 85

About this episode

Matt Bonass discusses the rise of athlete and celebrity investment in football and the implications for club ownership.

This week’s What The Footie Podcast is with Matt Bonass, Partner at Bird & Bird, one of the leading legal advisers in sport, investment and complex ownership deals (who recently worked on the Snoop Dogg x Luka Modric x Swansea City deal) Bird & Bird have just partnered with our Athlete Investor Summit, and ahead of the third edition and ahead of Matt's panel at the event, Paul and Matt discuss the growing rise of athlete and celebrity investment into sport, why football is increasingly being seen as an asset class, what’s driving the boom in club ownership interest, and how these deals are actually structured behind the scenes. They also get into the wider trend of athletes and public figures moving from endorsement into equity, what clubs are really looking for from high-profile investors, and what the future of investment in football could look like. - - - - - - - What The Footie is the football and business podcast that goes behind the scenes. Please remember to support the pod with a follow & a 5 star review.

People in this episode

Host: Paul

Guest: Matt Bonass

Topics covered

  • athlete investment
  • football club ownership
  • celebrity investment
  • sports finance
  • investment trends
  • equity vs endorsement

Keywords

  • athlete investment
  • football clubs
  • investment trends
  • Snoop Dogg
  • Luka Modric
  • Bird & Bird
  • equity
  • endorsement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bird & Bird, Snoop Dogg, Swansea City

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