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Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg interested in buying Tottenham

By Gary Pearson

CAMBRIDGE, MA - MAY 25: Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the commencement address at the Alumni Exercises at Harvard's 366th commencement exercises on May 25, 2017 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Zuckerberg studied computer science at Harvard before leaving to move Facebook to Paolo Alto, CA. He returned to the campus this week to his former dorm room and live streamed his visit. (Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images)
CAMBRIDGE, MA - MAY 25: Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the commencement address at the Alumni Exercises at Harvard's 366th commencement exercises on May 25, 2017 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Zuckerberg studied computer science at Harvard before leaving to move Facebook to Paolo Alto, CA. He returned to the campus this week to his former dorm room and live streamed his visit. (Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images) /
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Reports of a potential gargantuan £1 billion buyout of Spurs by an investment company backed by Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg is making headlines. 

Iconiq Capital, backed by Zuckerberg’s seemingly endless wealth, is considering buying a club that is making a meteoric rise, both on the pitch and financially, in recent years. Behemoth broadcasting deals with Sky and BT, along with the new state-of-the-art stadium and Champions League participation constitute a lucrative and smart investment.

The investment company based out of San Francisco is known to manage a multitude of Silicon Valley’s finest, with Zuckerberg being the most notorious.

The Sunday Times reports that Zuckerberg and Iconiq Capital have been plotting to purchase Spurs since 2014. It would be yet another move for big-money firms, those with the financial clout to do whatever they wish.

Other American tycoons – the Glazer family at Manchester United, Texan billionaire Stan Kroenke at Arsenal and John W Henry at Liverpool – have made their intentions felt across the pond – investing in a sport they knew very little about at the time of purchasing.

The Facebook tycoon is said to be worth about £49 billion.

And it pissed a lot of those club’s supporters off.

But this is the age we live in, where money, above all, talks. The deal is by no means finalized but if I were a betting man, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it come to fruition in the future.

Tottenham issued an official statement, and it reads like this:

"“The Club engaged Rothschild  to secure the funding for the new stadium. As expected many proposals came forward including bank debt and equity investment. The Club announced on 31 May 2017 the completion of the bank debt financing for the new stadium with a consortium of banks involving Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Limited, Goldman Sachs Bank USA and HSBC Bank plc. The Board believes this was the optimum solution in the interests of fans, employees and shareholders and for the continued development of the Club. The Board is not in any discussions relating to a takeover offer for the Club.”"

Even though the club statement couldn’t be more clear, when there’s a spark a fire is usually not far from spreading.

So, are Spurs supporters ready to see their beloved club owned by likes, shares and emoticons? I’m sure Zuckerberg and his somewhat clandestine investment company would not have much to do with the everyday operations of the club, but it’s sobering thought nonetheless.

Next: What's behind Tottenham's slow-burn transfer window

Unless, of course, you’re of the opinion that Spurs should follow suit with the likes of Chelsea, United and Manchester City, whose pockets are so deep they can splash out £100 million on a player without blinking an eye?

So is it yuck to Zuck, or should Spurs supporters embrace the social media tycoon as their prospectively new owner?

We’d love to hear what you think about the latest rumours coming out of Silicon Valley?

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