FOOTBALL is littered with rich billionaires splashing their cash on some of the best players in the world.
Many of the richest owners are well known as they are in charge of the biggest and most successful clubs around.
However, there are also a number of unexpected individuals who fly under the radar but are nevertheless some of the wealthiest people in the sport.
We are taking a deeper dive at that list, released on Reddit, by looking at each of the top 10 richest club owners in football.
1) Sheikh Mansour – Manchester City
Mansour has led a revolution at Manchester CityCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Perhaps the most famous takeover in football, it will not surprise you that Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour is the richest individual in the sport.
Since purchasing the club back in 2008 for around £210million, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates has transformed Man City into a European superpower.
The Sky Blues have won four Premier League titles in eight seasons and are closing in on a fifth in the 2020-21 campaign.
2) Dietrich Mateschitz – RB Leipzig
Mateschitz only narrowly misses out on being named the richest man in footballCredit: Getty Images – Getty
RB Leipzig owner Dietrich Mateschitz is most famous for being a 49 per cent owner of energy drink company Red Bull.
That lucrative financial venture has enabled him to become a hugely powerful man when it comes to Bundesliga football club RB Leipzig.
Having only been formed in 2009, it has taken them just over a decade to become an established Champions League side.
In the 2019-20 season, the Mateschitz-led club reached the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition, before being beaten by Paris Saint-Germain.
3) Andrea Agnelli – Juventus
Agnelli has overseen one of the most successful periods in Juventus’ historyCredit: Getty – Contributor
Andrea Agnelli became the fourth member of his family to take charge of Juventus in 2010 after his father, uncle and grandfather.
In the decade that has followed, Juventus have won nine Serie A titles in a row, dominating Italian football.
They have also acquired Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, one of the biggest signings of the last decade.
However, despite Agnelli overseeing significant investment, Juventus have failed to win the Champions League since 1996.
4) Dietmar Hopp – Hoffenheim
Hopp is probably one of the lesser known rich owners in footballCredit: Rex Features
Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp is a German software engineer and entrepreneur.
It was reported last year that he is the eighth richest person in Germany and 72nd in the world.
However, his financial power has not grabbed headlines across Europe in the way others have done.
But that could be put down largely to the fact that he was starting from a lower base, with Hoffenheim in the third tier when he began his dealings with the club in the 1990s.
Massive investment has seen them rise up to the Bundesliga with two successive promotions in the 2000s and they even finished third in the 2017-18 campaign.
5) Roman Abramovich – Chelsea
Abramovich was the first major billionaire owner to revolutionise a club when he arrived at ChelseaCredit: Action Images – Reuters
The most recognisable owner from the last 20 years of English football would unquestionably be Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich.
Although he has taken more of a backseat in recent years, the Russian was ever-present during his first decade at Stamford Bridge.
Abramovich took over at Chelsea in 2003 and within two years had his first Premier League title, with Jose Mourinho lifting the title in his first season at the club.
Since then, the Blues have lifted four more titles and won the Champions League in 2012.
Here are the richest football owners in the world
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6) Philip Anschutz – LA Galaxy
Anschutz has been a major player in the building of the MLS in the USCredit: AP:Associated Press
Philip Anschutz is a businessman with ventures in a number of different areas, but currently is the owner of LA Galaxy.
These include energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, movies, theaters, arenas and music.
He was one of the founding members of Major League Soccer and has owned a number of teams aside from LA Galaxy.
Clubs he has been involved with include Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, San Jose Earthquakes, D.C. United, and the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.
7) Stan Kroenke – Arsenal
Kroenke has been criticised by a section of Arsenal fans since taking chargeCredit: AFP – Getty
Another fairly common name brought up in English football.
Stan Kroenke, 73, is an American businessman who has slowly increased his control of the Gunners since originally becoming a director in 2008.
He is not a particularly popular figure among Arsenal fans as their wait for a first Premier League title since 2004 rumbles on.
As well as the Gunners, Kroenke also owns a number of other sports teams which include the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, Denver Nuggets of the NBA, Colorado Avalanche of the NHL and Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
8) Nasser Al-Khelaifi – Paris Saint-Germain
Al-Khelaifi went from tennis professional to business tycoonCredit: EPA
Bizzarly, PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi began as a tennis player and reached No995 in the world, but he never won a major title.
Since retiring in 2004, Al-Khelaifi has made his name as one of the most powerful people in French football.
He also has a number of other notable ventures which include being chairman of beIN Media Group and vice president of the Asian Tennis Federation for West Asia.
9) Zhang Jindong – Inter Milan
Jindong (left) secured ownership of Inter Milan in 2016Credit: ANSA
Many may not have heard of Zhang Jindong, the man who looks set to steer Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in 11 years this season.
Jindong is best known for being one of the founders and the current largest shareholder of Chinese website Suning.com.
His son Zhang Kangyang is on the board at Inter.
10) Robert Kraft – New England Revolution
Kraft is best known for his exploits as an NFL ownerCredit: Reuters
Robert Kraft will be famous among NFL fans as the owner of the supremely successful New England Patriots.
The Patriots have won six Super Bowls since 2002, spearheaded by quarter-back Tom Brady but supported financially by Kraft.
As well as his American football exploits though, the 79-year-old is also the owner of New England Revolution, an MLS franchise.
The team finished eighth in the Eastern Conference of the MLS in the 2020-21 campaign.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
