In brief
From worst to greatest, all 20 Premier League owners have been ranked.
Man United’s Glazer family and INEOS consortium deal with financial difficulties, fan outcry, and a lack of on-field performance.
Owners like those at Brentford and Brighton demonstrate that certain hierarchy have both brains and hearts.
Every Premier League team has an owner who serves as the club’s business brain and makes decisions that affect everything from club culture to transfer budgets. Some of these owners are admired for their audacious plans, substantial financial resources, and dedication to sustained success.
Others? Well, let’s just say their reigns are often marked by controversy, frustration, and their failure to put their money where their mouth is. From the billionaire benefactors to the less well-liked tycoons, we will examine the world of Premier League ownership in this final ranking and assign a score based on their success, influence, and relationship with supporters.
Let’s examine more closely who is actually in charge and who is just playing along, regardless of whether they are revolutionising their clubs or abandoning their fans and playing the role of silent partner.
20Glazer Family (51.75%), Sir Jim Ratcliffe (28.94%)
Manchester United
For a large portion of the post-Ferguson era, Old Trafford resembled Carrow Road in terms of colour and slum-like state due to green and yellow scarf protests against the Glazer family, whose financial mismanagement left Manchester United with over £650 million in debt. The club’s slide was accelerated when Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his group arrived in 2024 with the promise of saving it from its problems.
United paid millions to extend Erik ten Hag’s contract in the first ten months of their attempt to fix the problems left by the Glazers’ rule, but they fired him three months into the campaign. There has been little noticeable progress on the pitch as they linger in mid-table despite identical actions taken with sports director Dan Ashworth, raising ticket prices, upsetting fans with mass layoffs and splitting from club ambassador Sir Alex Ferguson.
19Sport Republic (80%), Katharina Liebherr (20%)
Southampton
After 23 Premier League games this season, Ivan Juric’s Southampton are currently at the bottom of the standings and are headed for a second relegation in as few as three years under the new ownership. Even if all eras come to an end, the Saints’ time with players like Mauricio Pochettino, Virgil van Dijk, and Adam Lallana feels like a faraway memory that has been severely damaged.
Sport Republic’s unwillingness to invest in the team was a major factor in its collapse. They also seem to be unsure of when to support a boss and when to make changes. Martin Russell’s tenure, which has resulted in just one top flight victory, stagnated, and Nathan Jones was fired after just eight games. Although Juric’s selection offered supporters some hope, it is unclear if the risky choice was worthwhile.
18David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky, Vanessa Gold
West Ham
In the league, West Ham’s fan-ownership dynamic is undoubtedly the most intricate. The team has made a lot of mistakes under the contentious leadership of Sullivan, Kretinsky, and Gold. The previous 15 years haven’t been kind to the east London squad, from the decision to move them from their famous Boleyn Ground to the sterile London Stadium spacecraft to the belief that the team has frequently lacked desire.
David Moyes, who turned Declan Rice into a world-class defensive midfielder and guided the team to Europa Conference League gold in 2023, has been largely credited with the current success. Moyes was the lone bright spot for a while. Even though things have changed recently, the stadium disaster is still a serious flaw that cannot be ignored.
17ENIC Group (Joe Lewis family (60%), Daniel Levy (25%))
Tottenham Hotspur
Daniel Levy and the ENIC Group’s incapacity to adapt to changing circumstances and stay ahead of their ever improving rivals, including their neighbours Arsenal, is their biggest problem. They never appear to have the motivation to lead Tottenham into a period of prolonged success, even if they have advanced to the Champions League final and are in tight competition with teams like Manchester City in recent title contests.
With just one trophy under his tutelage—a League Cup victory in 2008—Levy’s tenure is insufficient for a team in the conventional “big six.” They have only themselves to blame for their lack of investment in the summer transfer window and their decision to fire serial winner Jose Mourinho only days before a final. Even though their new stadium is being built, the team is still not improving on the pitch.
16Shahid Khan
Fulham
Additionally, Fulham and its owner, Shahid Khan, have a tense relationship. Not the villainous tiger from Jungle Book, but the multibillionaire American owner who also owns stock in the Jacksonville Jaguars, an NFL team. When he and his family bought them in 2013 for £200 million and immediately demoted them, the supporters resented them for years. During his first season in charge, he had three different managers, which didn’t exactly help mend fences. At one point, the situation became so toxic that the club’s vice-chairman advised the supporters to “go to hell” on Twitter.
However, the past four years have shown that it’s never too late to make a change, as Marco Silva’s arrival has revitalised Craven Cottage. The Cottagers are undoubtedly having a great season, and the possibility of finishing in the top 10 for a second straight year in 2024–2025 is still very much alive and well, even though certain old grievances have not been addressed.
15Stan Kroenke
Arsenal
Since his initial participation with the Gunners in 2007, Stan Kroenke has had a remarkable journey, rising from a minority partner to the club’s owner. Through a series of acquisitions, Kroenke eventually gained 100% ownership. In 2018, he most recently acquired 27.11% of the club from Alisher Usmanov, gaining over 90% of the shares and necessitating the compulsory purchase of the remaining shares.
On the football, Arsenal suffered during his first few years as owner, but under Mikel Arteta, they have made a comeback to the Champions League and have twice come very close to winning the Premier League. Arsenal supporters have criticised Kroenke, citing the team’s 2021 failed effort to qualify for the European Super League as a huge setback for the ownership. However, the Gunners’ supporters can no longer claim their owner doesn’t care because the current manager has spent about £700 million on new hires.
14BlueCo (Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, Jose E. Feliciano)
Chelsea
Chelsea is owned by a consortium consisting of four companies, including the infamous Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital company, who are all part of the BlueCo company. The consortium has been in charge of the Blues since 2022, when the team was purchased from former owner Roman Abramovich in response to the UK government’s sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Despite spending more than a billion pounds on acquisitions throughout three of the most costly transfer windows ever, the club has had very little success during that time compared to its prior attempts. But this season’s comeback—the Blues are currently sixth in the Premier League after 23 games—indicates that money might eventually buy happiness, and if Enzo Maresca keeps planting the seeds of success with the toys the people upstairs have bought him, the Boehly regime might be in for a happy ride.
13Steve Parish, Josh Harris, David Blitzer, John Textor
Crystal Palace
Steve Parish, who has been the Eagles’ chairman since he took the team out of administration in 2010, is the most prominent of the stakeholders who control Crystal Palace. Since the other members of the CPFC 2010 group that purchased the club back then sold their shares, Parish is the only one still actively participating.
Without Steve Parish, who has contributed to Crystal Palace’s steady Premier League presence, the south London team may have been sent to the annals of history and possibly replaced by a phoenix club with a name similar to “AFC Palace.” Even though recent advancements have slowed, in part because Roy Hodgson was retained for an extended period of time, the ownership’s beneficial impact cannot be denied. Along the way, they’ve also shown a talent for finding undiscovered treasures like Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta, and Michael Olise.
12Fosun International
Wolverhampton Wanderers
In 2016, the Chinese firm Fosun International acquired Wolves from long-time owner Steve Morgan. The three powerful businesspeople who co-founded Fosun—Gui Guangchang, Liang Xinjun, and Wang Qunbin—have a combined estimated net worth of around $7 billion (£5.4 billion).
The team has become a Premier League mainstay during their time, finishing in the top division on several occasions and in the top level since 2018. Because Fosun owns a small stake in the agency of Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes, the club has also been noted for its ties to Portuguese players. Similar to Forest, their willingness to let go of well-known players like Pedro Neto and Matheus Nunes without having any intentions to replace them during the summer of 2024 was the only factor preventing them from finishing in the top 10.
11John W.Henry & Tom Werner (Fenway Sports Group)
Liverpool
Tom Werner and John W. Henry, both Americans, own Liverpool as part of the Fenway Sports Group, the controlling holding company. They have been the club’s owners since 2010, when the board elected them to succeed former owners Tom Hicks and George N. Gillett Jr.
The team won the Champions League in 2019 when they owned it, and a year later, it won its first Premier League title in thirty years. Despite this, the ownership has been criticised for a number of reasons, such as FSG’s 2019 attempt to trademark the word “Liverpool,” its 2021 European Super League aspirations, and their alleged lack of funding compared to the Reds’ championship competitors. They may be more practical than others, but the results speak for themselves, and they were the driving forces behind the hiring of Arne Slot, Jurgen Klopp, and Michael Edwards.
10The Friedkin Group
Everton
After his difficulties with Arsenal, Farhad Moshiri was touted as the billionaire saviour in February 2016, willing to invest his Iranian money in Everton and create a club worthy of the Champions League. However, Moshiri’s tenure as manager is now finished, since The Friedkin Group (TFG) successfully acquired the Toffees in December 2024.
Under the leadership of American millionaire Dan Friedkin, who also owns Serie A team AS Roma, the Merseyside club will enter a new era. Resolving the club’s unstable managerial status was one of his first responsibilities. Although ending Sean Dyche’s stint was somewhat of a shock, the supporters valued their ruthless strategy, particularly as previous manager David Moyes reclaimed his position. Of course, it’s early, but the first indications are encouraging.
9Gamechanger 20 Ltd
Ipswich Town
When Ipswich Town was in the third division of English football, Marcus Evans was the previous owner. Since 2021, the American investment organisation Gamechanger 20 Limited has owned the team. In December of the same year, the group fired then-manager Paul Cook and hired Kieran McKenna, who has guided the Tractor Boys to back-to-back promotions and returned the team to the Premier League for the first time since 2002.
Chairman Mike O’Leary, Ed Schwartz, Brett Johnson, Berke Bakay, and Mark Detmer make up the Gamechanger 20 group. The latter three also contribute extra funds as the “Three Lions,” a patriotic moniker for the organisation. With the exception of the fact that they haven’t had enough time to do additional miracles, they have all worked together to bring the club back to its glory of the 1990s.
8Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media & PCP Capital Partners
Newcastle United
Newcastle, which the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), PCP Capital Partners, and RB Sports & Media own, is comfortably the richest ownership in the league. The company bought the team from Mike Ashley in 2021. Along with Manchester City, Newcastle is one of the league’s two state-owned teams. Champions League football returned to St. James’ Park in 2023 after the Magpies finished in fourth place under the ownership of the contentious consortium.
7Bill Foley
Bournemouth
Maxim Demin, who had played a significant role in the Cherries’ ascent from League Two to the top level, sold his 100% ownership of Bournemouth to Bill Foley in December 2022. When Foley’s business, Black Knight Football Club, bought the team, it made actor Michael B. Jordan a minority owner. When he chose to fire Gary O’Neil following a successful start to the 2022–2023 season, he came under intense scrutiny from supporters who believed the new management was trying to ruin the team.
Rather, the management has invested millions of pounds, brought on a young, ambitious strategist in Andoni Iraola, and is already discussing a five-year strategy to get the coastal resort town into the Champions League. Given their wins this season against both Manchester City and Arsenal, as well as a 5-0 thumping of top four contender Nottingham Forest, it is reasonable to assume they are deserving of such an accomplishment.
6Evangelos Marinakis
Nottingham Forest
The waters of the River Trent have mostly kept quiet at Nottingham Forest, but Greek businessman Evangelos Marinakis, who still owns a majority ownership in the Athens-based club, has had a turbulent time at Olympiacos. Marinakis may have the menacing aura of a mafia leader.
While Forest has made steady progress, his other endeavours in Greece have seen management come and go like ships in the night. They were promoted five years after he took over, and he has made significant transfers. The prospect of Financial Fair Play (FFP) sanctions from the previous season, which implied the boat has the silent potential to rock, is the only thing keeping him from ranking higher.
5Matthew Benham
Brentford
In 2005, Matthew Benham, a boyhood Brentford supporter, made his first investment in the team as a member of a supporter’s trust. In 2012, he bought out the supporters’ ownership to gain complete control of the Bees. At the time of the takeover, the west London team was in the third division of English football and had not competed in the top two divisions for more than 20 years. However, nine years after the takeover, they had defeated Swansea in the Championship play-off final to return to the top flight.
Today, the Bees are as fun as they are effective in the results industry, led by the much-loved Dane Thomas Frank. With Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa spearheading the charge, they appear to be headed for the same spots this season after almost missing out on qualifying for European football in the 2022–2023 campaign.
4The Srivaddhanaprabha Family
Leicester City
The Srivaddhanaprabha family has been steadily running Leicester City since 2010, proving that the team is Thai-owned. At the beginning of the decade, the Foxes were acquired by a group called Asia Football Investments, which included the late Vichai and current owner Aiyawatt. Under the family’s ownership, the team has gone from being a Championship team to winning the 2020–21 FA Cup and the Premier League title in 2015–16 against 5000-1 odds.
For eight years, from 2010 until his untimely death in a helicopter accident, Vichai served as the club’s chairman. His son Aiyawatt is currently the club’s chairman after they made a comeback to the top division in 2024–2025. In addition, the family purchased OH Leuven, a Belgian team, in 2017. With the club’s kindness at its heart, the family’s concern for preserving Vichai’s legacy is evident, even though success has been harder to come by since tragedy shrouded the club.
3V Sports
Aston Villa
Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris control V Sports, a holding firm that purchased Aston Villa in 2018 when they were playing in the Championship and about to go out of business. When Villa was promoted back to the Premier League in 2019, the purchase of 55% of the shares escalated to a complete takeover.
Originally called NSWE, V Sports changed their name to match the Villa name. Like the City Football Group and Red Bull conglomerate, the corporation has also acquired clubs in other countries, forming a “group.” Under the aspirational ownership, Villa has rapidly improved and will likely alter the existing “big six” as they return to the Champions League in 2023–2024 for the first time in 40 years.
2City Football Group
Manchester City
The City Football Group, a partnership comprising the Abu Dhabi United Group, Silver Lake, and China Media Capital & CITIC Group, is the well-known owner of the defending champions, Manchester City. After the team was fully taken over in 2008, City was completely changed. Eight Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy have resulted from City’s ascent to the top of the world’s football rankings under the ownership.
The Manchester team is the source of the City Group name, which also include Girona, New York City, Mumbai City, and Palermo. Many have criticised the club’s state ownership, calling their achievements “sportswashing,” and the Premier League’s ongoing investigation into City’s 115 accusations has cast a shadow over the team. However, it will be up to the people who run football’s largest enterprise if early projections indicate that they will win the “Trial of the Century.”
1Tony Bloom
Brighton & Hove Albion
Since 2009, Brighton’s chairman has been Tony Bloom, one of the most adored owners by any fan community. He purchased a 75% stake and contributed approximately £93 million to the construction of the Amex Stadium. Under his leadership, the Seagulls have moved from League One to the Europa League, and Bloom is a lifelong supporter of the team.
Bloom also owns a minority position in Royal Union Saint-Gilloise, a Belgian team he acquired in 2018, however he was compelled to cut back on his holding in 2023 because of UEFA’s regulations regarding multi-club ownership. The fact that he was given an MBE in 2024 for his contributions to Brighton football demonstrates how much heart is required to manage a team. The Seagulls have amassed a remarkable pool of young players and skilled managers under his direction, so managing the team feels like managing a flourishing business.
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