One of the most popular football cliches is that the game ultimately belongs to the fans. 

It is we who are the custodians of its heart and soul. We are the caretakers of its well-being.

Amidst all of the rampant commerciality and the multi-million pound deals, it is our moral barometer that keeps the beautiful game on the straight and narrow. 

After all, when club owners are long gone, we will remain, our investment a lifelong and emotional one. 

A club therefore is nothing but an idea without its bricks and mortar – or more accurately these days, glass and steel – along with its legion of loyal, devoted supporters.

Such somewhat syrupy sentiments may well have an element of truth to them, and that has been the case for a long, long time now, but in recent years another axiom has emerged, one that has comprehensively usurped the notion that football fans matter on any meaningful level. 

That new truth is that nobody in power, or positions of influence, listens to a single word we say anymore. As for caring about our concerns? Be real. 

Perhaps, to an extent, it has always been thus, even back in the days when clubs were owned by local businessmen and the game’s governing bodies was made up of stuffy old blazers, who may have had Napoleonic egos but at least maintained a modicum of respect for the masses. 

Back then fans were probably still an after-thought but crucially newspapers had the power to hold clubs to account, and newspapers tended to have their reader’s best interests at heart in those days.

It was perfectly possible therefore for a club to commit to an unpopular initiative, then backtrack following a few days’ worth of critical back pages.

And at least too, prior to football mushrooming into the ginormous, self-contained entity it is today we had the ability to protest with our feet.  

Let’s say a lower league club decided to switch their home fixtures to Friday nights, a move than angered its diehard contingent. 

Should their gate receipts subsequently nosedive by a couple of thousand that club would be impacted financially and significantly so. This would mean a swift return to Saturday kick-offs.

Can the same be said of today, with TV revenue making up so much of every club’s income, regardless of division? 

Our money will always matter but it no longer buys us any influence or has any bearing. None whatsoever.

Moreover, on the rare occasions when we insist on becoming part of the conversation, we are silenced.

Take Evertonians and their present ire at their club being docked an unprecedented ten points for breaching profit and sustainability rules.

It is a punishment viewed by many as being unduly harsh, a punishment that has placed the Toffees among the favourites in the sports betting to drop this term.

Yet when Everton supporters planned a protest at their next home game not only did the Premier League panic – as you would expect – but Sky did too, with talk of them reducing sound levels at Goodison Park for their televised coverage, even replacing the crowd noise with a pre-recorded version. 

Their excuse for such measures was a concern at breaking Ofcom regulations regarding offensive language but with no evidence that swearing would be deployed en masse that didn’t wash for many.

Instead, it was believed that Sky were protecting their ‘brand’, in doing so protecting the interests of their partner, the Premier League.

It was certainly notable how little the protests were mentioned in commentary.  

If this was a disturbing development we then come to the switching of Wolves vs Chelsea to Christmas Eve this year.

No fan wanted this. Furthermore, no viewer requested it either. For the match-goers meanwhile, it means that their festive plans are now severely compromised with travel arrangements on that particular day a serious issue. 

Yet that didn’t stop Sky from railroading the immensely unpopular fixture change through, despite social media being unusually unified in its condemnation of it – in times past, fans have been their own worst enemy in resorting to tribalism and point-scoring on such matters - and despite respected Supporter Trusts getting involved. 

Their voices fell on deaf ears. It’s as if we longer exist. 

Which has more pertinently than ever been the case since the pandemic, a moment in time that ironically is when supporters are said to have regained a foothold in importance within the sport. 

With matches being played in front of empty stands, our presence was sorely missed and repeatedly we found ourselves being patronised to the point of silliness. Indeed all the of the tropes from the opening few lines were trotted out on an almost daily basis. 

So how were we rewarded upon our return post-lockdown? By leading clubs attempting to form a Super League, that’s how, a move that threatened to be cataclysmic for English football.

The quick retreat made by the clubs in question has been wrongly attributed to the widespread fury of millions of supporters but the depressing truth is that our anger was factored in, accounted for. Easy to ignore. 

It was when the media and politicians raised their voices that the situation dramatically changed. 

Because ultimately they matter whereas we don’t. Indeed we seem to matter less and less with every passing year.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*

The owners of Premier League clubs have always been under the spotlight, but the scrutiny has increased in recent years. Criteria for ownership has been a hotly discussed topic, particularly around Mike Ashley’s sale of Newcastle United.

High-profile football pundits have taken aim at certain owners, with a particular focus on American influence in the failed attempt to create a European Super League.

The Premier League is the biggest domestic sporting competition in the world. Whether you judge it by the betting figures or viewership, it is miles ahead of any other league.

As a result, it is the wealthiest, which makes it especially attractive to those with billions of pounds burning a hole in their pocket.

There are no signs that the live betting interest in Premier League football is going to drop. Wages and transfer fees continue to soar, but who are the people pulling the strings? Here’s our guide to the Premier League owners…

Premier League Owners List

There has been considerable turnover of Premier League owners in the 21st century. Five of the 20 clubs have seen changes in ownership since the start of the 2020s, and several others changed hands in the previous five years. 

In 2023-24, Tottenham owners Daniel Levy and Joe Lewis are the longest standing among owners of Premier League clubs, having taken over back in 2001.

Luton are the only club owned by the fans, while Brentford and Brighton are owned by individuals who partly made their money through betting, which has influenced the way their clubs are run. 

Here is our full list of Premier League club owners:

• Arsenal – Stan Kroenke

• Aston Villa – Wes Edens & Nassef Sawiris

• Bournemouth – William P. Foley

• Brentford – Matthew Benham

• Brighton – Tony Bloom

• Burnley – Alan Pace

• Chelsea – Clearlake Capital Group, Todd Boehly, Mark Walter & Hansjorg Wyss

• Crystal Palace – John Textor, David Blitzer, Josh Harris & Steve Parish

• Everton – Farhad Moshiri

• Fulham – Shahid Khan

• Liverpool – John W. Henry & Tom Werner

• Luton Town – Luton Town Football Club Limited

• Manchester City – Newton Investment and Development, Silver Lake & China Media Capital

• Manchester United – Glazer Family

• Newcastle – Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media & PCP Capital Partners

• Nottingham Forest – Evangelos Marinakis

• Sheffield United – Abdullah bin Musa’ed

• Tottenham – Joe Lewis & Daniel Levy

• West Ham – David Sullivan & Daniel Kretinsky

• Wolves – Guo Guangchang, Liang Xinjun & Wang Qunbin

Richest Premier League Owners

Newcastle are by far the richest Premier League club, though an exact figure for the net worth of their owners is impossible due to the Public Investment Fund being state-owned.

Their spending power is considered far greater than any other ownership group, even when compared to the mega-rich Manchester City.

City’s owners have the highest net worth of those that it's reasonable to make an estimate of. They are only narrowly ahead of Chelsea, Arsenal and then Aston Villa.

Of course, City’s ownership group have shown much more willingness to spend than Arsenal and Aston Villa, which has led to them getting into hot water over FFP breaches. 

Premier League owners’ net worth is only part of the story when trying to evaluate how much they will spend.

Being the richest owners in the Premier League is no guarantee of big-spending like Roman Abramovich’s early years at Chelsea, and Financial Fair Play restrictions certainly make it trickier.

Of course, having one of the top names when it comes to Premier League owners’ wealth does not always equate to success.

Big-spending has often backfired – there is much more to building a juggernaut like Manchester City beyond their splashy transfer fees and high wages. Several clubs have been bankrolled at different points with limited success. It can backfire spectacularly, and the penalties for breaking financial rules can be severe (just ask Everton). 

American Owners in Premier League

Half of the 2023-24 Premier League clubs have American ownership to some extent.

Of course, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United are all exclusively owned by Americans, with all three clubs at the centre of the European Super League plan.

Since then, Chelsea have been taken over by Clearlake Capital Group, Todd Boehly, Mark Walter & Hansjorg Wyss. Boehly is very much the face of the ownership group.

Just down the road, Fulham are owned by Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan, who also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Several of the Premier League’s American owners also have stakes in the major American sports leagues, which has led to some changes in organisational decision-making.

Boehly owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Fenway Sports Group own the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Penguins alongside Liverpool. LeBron James is also an investor in FSG.

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has a widespread sporting empire, including the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. Wes Edens, co-owner of Aston Villa, also has a stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.

Josh Harris and David Blitzer are both minority owners of Crystal Palace, which is a small chunk of their sporting interest.

Harris and Blitz are both involved in the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and Washington Commanders alongside various other roles at sporting franchises.

Bournemouth owner Bill Foley is also owner of the Vegas Golden Knights, while the Glazers also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Premier League Ownership Debates

Owners can easily become heroes for fans, but many have become villains, too. That’s before we even get into state involvement and imbalance between teams when some are bankrolled so dramatically. 

The questions surrounding Manchester City and Newcastle are not going to disappear any time soon.

New Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has also been subject to criticism due to his plans to ‘Americanise’ the Premier League and the Blues’ on-pitch struggles. 

Boehly previously suggested introducing an All-Star Game. 

"I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports and really starts to figure out.

"Why wouldn't we do a tournament with the bottom four teams? Why isn't there an All-Star game?

"You could do a North vs South All-Star game in the Premier League and fund whatever the pyramid needed very easily. Everyone likes the idea of more revenue for the League."

Gary Neville, a frequent critic of the Glazers, appeared to reply to Boehly’s comments without mentioning his name directly. 

Neville tweeted, "I keep saying it but the quicker we get the Regulator in the better.

"US investment into English football is a clear and present danger to the pyramid and fabric of the game.

"They just don’t get it and think differently. They also don’t stop till they get what they want!"

Debates about owners of Premier League clubs are inevitable for years to come. It is understandably a heated, emotional subject – the stakes are high given the damage that can be done to clubs and the sport as a whole.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*