The Premier League’s Dirty Secret: Why You Can’t Always Know Who Really Owns Your Club
The English Premier League is the world’s richest and most watched football competition, attracting billions in investment and global fans who passionately follow their teams. Yet beneath the glamour lies a persistent issue: opaque ownership structures that often make it impossible for the public—and sometimes even regulators—to fully trace who truly controls and benefits from a club.
While the Premier League requires clubs to disclose majority owners and individuals holding 10% or more stakes, along with passing an Owners’ and Directors’ Test (commonly called the “Fit and Proper” test), these measures fall short in revealing the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs)—the real people behind the money and decision-making. Complex corporate layers, offshore entities, and secrecy jurisdictions create barriers that obscure full transparency.
A Revealing Academic Study
A peer-reviewed study published in late 2024 in the journal Sport in Society, led by criminologists Peter Duncan and Nicholas Lord from the University of Manchester, examined the ownership structures of all 20 Premier League clubs during the 2023/24 season. Drawing from sources like the ORBIS database, the Premier League handbook, and the Tax Justice Network’s secrecy rankings, the researchers identified several red flags commonly associated with illicit finance risks.
Key findings included:
- Over half of the clubs had at least one holding company incorporated offshore, often in high-secrecy jurisdictions such as the United States (particularly Delaware), the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, or Luxembourg.
- At least 12 of the 20 clubs had 10% or more of their holdings that could not be formally traced back to beneficial owners due to secrecy provisions in these structures.
- For several high-profile clubs—including Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur—the entirety of shareholdings could not always be publicly verified to the ultimate level.
- Many setups involved unnecessary complexity, with multiple layers of legal entities across different countries. Manchester United’s chain, for example, included 13 legal entities, while Aston Villa featured companies registered in four overseas territories.
The study emphasized that these characteristics mirror those flagged in illicit finance literature as enabling money laundering, fraud, or other financial crimes. The researchers were careful not to accuse specific owners of wrongdoing but highlighted how such arrangements create conditions where hidden investors or illicit funds could potentially enter the sport undetected.
Regulatory Gaps and Broader Risks
The Premier League’s current rules mandate disclosure of beneficial owners with 10%+ stakes and require owners/directors to pass integrity and financial checks. However, critics argue the system has limitations: it doesn’t always demand full public revelation of the source of wealth, allows intricate corporate vehicles like trusts, and may not penetrate deeply enough into offshore setups.
Football’s immense wealth—combined with its global reach—makes it an attractive target for laundering dirty money. Organizations like Play the Game and Transparency International have warned that multi-club ownership networks (where one group controls multiple teams) add further layers of complexity, with 34 English clubs linked in such arrangements. Past scandals, including Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea era (involving undisclosed offshore dealings) and concerns over sanctioned individuals, underscore these vulnerabilities.
The UK government has classified football as a high-risk sector for money laundering in national assessments, though clubs have not historically faced the same anti-money laundering obligations as banks or other industries. Emerging rules in the EU and ongoing UK efforts aim to close gaps.
Recent Reforms and the Path Forward
In July 2025, the Football Governance Act became law, establishing an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) with expanded powers. From December 2025, the IFR can scrutinize owners’ suitability, sources of wealth (ensuring they aren’t linked to serious criminal conduct), funding proposals, and ownership transparency. It can investigate incumbent owners, require publication of audited accounts and related-party transactions, and intervene if concerns arise.
The Premier League has also reformed its financial rules, replacing Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) with a Squad Cost Ratio model from the 2026/27 season. This closes loopholes like asset sales to related parties for boosting revenues, promotes long-term financial health, and emphasizes stronger balance sheets—though it focuses more on spending than direct ownership transparency.
Despite these steps, full implementation of the IFR’s regime is ongoing, and challenges remain in piercing offshore secrecy. Fans often celebrate big-money takeovers without questioning deeper origins, yet the structures raise serious questions about the sport’s integrity, fairness, and vulnerability to misuse.
The “dirty secret” persists: in many cases, the named owner on the Premier League’s list is only part of the picture. True accountability requires piercing the corporate veil to reveal who really owns—and potentially influences—your club. Until transparency catches up fully, the beautiful game carries an uncomfortable shadow.
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