ADVERTISEMENT

International

Fight Erupts Over Who Really Owns Italy’s Oldest Football Club

Genoa CFC players applaud fans during a match at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna, Italy, on Jan. 5. (Alessandro Sabattini/Photographer: Alessandro Sabatti)

(Bloomberg) -- Romanian investor Dan Sucu realized what is, for many, a dream come true: owning a historic Italian football team.

He holds a roughly 77% stake in Genoa Cricket & Football Club after subscribing to a €45 million ($46.8 million) capital increase, according to a statement on the club’s website published Wednesday. Sucu already owns Rapid Bucharest football club and is the founder of a furniture brand.

The problem is that a US investor says it actually owns Genoa and never agreed to sell the club.

“A statement was released by Genoa CFC purporting to sell the club to an outside party,” New York insurance company Advantage Capital Holdings LLC said in a statement to Bloomberg. “This is false.” 

Founded in 1893, Genoa is Italy’s oldest consistently running football club and competes in Serie A, the country’s top football league. It’s set to play Napoli this weekend. 

A representative for Genoa said the recapitalization process is final, adding that Sucu is now the majority owner of the club. Both Genoa and Sucu were advised by legal firms throughout the process, according to the representative.

Complicated History

The recent ownership history of Genoa is complicated. It was bought in September 2021 by 777 Partners LLC, a Miami-based multi-club football investor with a background in everything from re-insurance to film studios. 

A-Cap was a major lender to 777, and some of its loans were secured against their assets. When the football investor collapsed, A-Cap said that’s when it took over Genoa. It hired bankers at Moelis & Co. to review 777’s portfolio, which also included Vasco da Gama in Brazil, Hertha BSC in Germany and Paris-based Red Star FC, Bloomberg previously reported.

“This alleged sale was executed without the knowledge, approval or signatures of the club’s shareholders and without the Club’s shareholder’s board representatives,” a spokesperson for A-Cap said in the statement. “Any attempt to falsely represent the status of Genoa CFC will be vigorously contested by the Club’s shareholders. We regret that Club management wasted time on this non-approved clandestine operation.” 

Sucu clearly thinks he now owns Genoa. In his statement on Wednesday, he said: “It is an honor and a great responsibility to become a shareholder of Genoa CFC.”

A statement on the club’s website said the board of directors met and approved Sucu’s offer, with the existing shareholders keeping a minority stake. A spokesperson from Serie A declined to comment.

Genoa’s president is Alberto Zangrillo, a Professor in Anesthesia and Intensive Care at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan. He was also a physician for former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. 

Sign up for Bloomberg’s Business of Sports newsletter for the context you need on the collision of power, money and sports, from the latest deals to the newest stakeholders. Delivered weekly.

--With assistance from Irina Vilcu.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.