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Do network clubs work?

Sunderland may be the latest club to form part of a global network of football teams.   The Pozzo family has owned Udinese since 1986 and Watford since 2012, as well as other clubs.  They are the only group in Europe to have been in control of more than one club in five top leagues at one time.

Owning multiple clubs allows an owner to invest heavily and hopefully smartly in scouting and recruitment.  Players can be tested in different environments and move to clubs and leagues that suit their particular skill set.

Juan Sartori, the incoming owner of Sunderland, has linked up with Kyril Louis-Dreyfuss, a 22-year old with a £2bn trust fund whose family own a five per cent stake in Olympique Marseille.  Sartori's wife is the daughter of wealthy Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev who owns AS Monaco.

Sartori and Dreyfuss are planning a takeover of top Uruguayan side River Plate (not to be confused with the Argentine side of the same name).  Subsidised loans from River Plate could ease any financial fair play worries for Sunderland.

Football networks don't always work well.   Roland Duchatelet at one time owned both Charlton Athletic and Standard Liege, as well as clubs across Europe from Hungary to Spain but it didn't end well for him or the fans.



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