Gm football fans.

Route One here, the football newsletter that’s never caught offside.

Today’s briefing is a ~5 min read:

• Private equity is scoring big in the modern game 🤑

• Fantasy Premier League: we analyse Gameweek 10 wildcards 🎲

• Extra Time: Lyon’s fall from grace is one for the history books 😬

🗞️ Morning Brief

PRIVATE EQUITY SCORES BIG💰

Let’s talk about private equity. They’re the sugar-daddies of football - flashy, demanding, and more headache than they’re worth… but it’s hard to say no to their money.

Now, over one-third of clubs in Europe are funded by private capital.

Institutional investors view football clubs as an ‘uncorrelated asset class’ that provides secular growth outside traditional markets.

But what does that mean?

Well, sports assets have increased in value and investors want a slice of that action.

At a time when traditional markets offer an average return of 7.03 per cent, sports assets are averaging 10-12 per cent.

Simple maths, right?

Here are the 3 hottest PE-backed deals in football right now, all in under 60 seconds…

1/ Dynasty Equity X Liverpool FC

Dynatasy Equity bought a minority stake in Liverpool.

And for good reason…

• To help pay bank debt incurred during the Covid pandemic (sorry to use the ‘C’ word so flippantly)

• Build the AXA Training Centre

• Repurchase Melwood training ground

• And… 🥁 … support player acquisition in the transfer window

2/ 777 Partners X Everton

We’ve covered this takeover already… so we’ll keep this one short.

777 failed to meet the Financial Conduct Authorities’ deadlines to prove they had the funds to buy the club.

While it’s too early to call, there’s a big chance this deal collapses pretty soon.

3/ Clearlake Capital X Chelsea

The Todd Boehly-led takeover of Chelsea is the most high-profile PE-backed deal of recent times.

Although Boehly knows little to nothing about the sport, he was once a wrestling champion at high school.

That counts for something, I guess.

So, the question remains, is private equity good for football?

Just like any good sugar daddie, private equity firms want a return on their money. We can’t ignore that fact.

And as the saying goes, money can’t buy happiness. But it can buy a top-quality striker or build a new training pitch.

Liverpool and Tottenham are two examples of when PE is done right.

So, PE can be a positive force for football development.

The problem is: the opposite is also true…

WILDCARDS 🎲

FPL managers have been targeting GW10 as the time to play their Wildcards.

So, R1 has a mid-week treat for you….

We have broken down two big-name FPL Wildcards:

• Ali Jahangirov: The 2022-23 FPL Champion

• Let’s Talk FPL (Andy): The biggest FPL Youtuber

Ali Jahangirov - The 2022-23 FPL Champion

Ali has been tight-lipped about his wildcard logic.

He also believes that this is the most powerful chip in the game, so his GW9 wildcard reveal is informative.

Here are the key takeaways:

• He keeps Haaland. Presumably, this is a long-term play given City’s tough fixture run in the short term.

• No Tripper.

• Watkins gets the nod upfront.

• No Saka.

• Triple premium team: Haaland, Son, Salah.

• Gabriel is being prepped for Arsenal’s fixture swing.

  Let’s Talk FPL (Andy)- 383K Subs

  

• Haaland stays.

• No Tripper.

• Watkins gets the nod upfront.

• Triple premium team: Haaland, Son, Salah.

But…

• Saka’s in.

• He takes a punt on Palmer.

• He has no Newcastle defenders.

Andy is making final tweaks before the GW10 deadline but is “90% set.”

As always, feel free to send us your wildcard drafts.

Stay winning, Routers. 🫡

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq lost in front of 696 fans. 3,195 fans watched Bury v Wythenshawe Town in the 9th tier of English football on Saturday. Fair to say… Gerrard isn’t enjoying the same 54,074 crowd he was used to at Anfield.

Gary O’Neil’s interesting tactical insight. The Wolves manager dissected his team’s pattern of play to beat Bournemouth at the weekend. Will former managers be the future of punditry?

Lyon still has no wins in Ligue 1. Haphazard transfer business has meant that Lyon are bottom of the table and destined for relegation. What a fall from grace.

Ollie Watkins is on fire. Only Mohamed Salah (35) and Erling Haaland (33) have contributed to more Premier League goals since Unai Emery's arrival.

Barcelona reveals £1.25b stadium plans. There’s only one problem. Money.

MEME 😂