Could Jay-Z buy Tottenham? Rap star ‘would jump at the chance’ to take over Premier League soccer team if owner Joe Lewis is convicted of insider trading
Jay-Z could make an incredible move to buy English Premier League team Tottenham if owner Joe Lewis is convicted of insider trading.
A business associate of the hip-hop star told The Express: ‘More than a few of the very top clubs there (England) – like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea – are now under US ownership and Jay would jump at the chance of a controlling interest at board level somewhere with the global reach of Spurs.
‘It remains to be seen whether Mr. Lewis will walk away free. If he doesn’t, Jay has said he wants to be in a position to move quickly if he feels the price is right.
‘He believes this is achievable, especially with the backing of fellow investors.’
Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, already has business partnerships in soccer. His RocNation Sports signed a ‘strategic partnership’ with the Italian league, Serie A, earlier in July.
RocNation also represents Romelu Lukaku, the Belgium and Chelsea striker who has previously spoken of how much Jay-Z knows about the game.
‘We spent some time together in New York… He’s a person who follows football a lot, he always follows Inter (Milan). He’s truly a nice person.’
Jay-Z has an estimated wealth of $2.5billion, while Forbes valued Tottenham earlier this year at $2.8bn.
This week, Tottenham was plunged into crisis when Lewis was indicted in New York on 16 counts of insider share dealing and conspiracy – which he denies.
The 86-year old billionaire Lewis is the man originally behind ENIC, which owns 70 per cent of Spurs.
Tottenham finished last season down in eighth place in the Premier League and star striker Harry Kane is widely expected to leave the team for German champion Bayern Munich.
But the team has a state-of-the-art stadium in north London – one of the finest venues for sports in the world – that doubles up for hosting NFL games as well as Premier League soccer.
MORE TO FOLLOW