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Modric buys Swansea stake

Luka Modric, the former Ballon d’Or holder, World Cup finalist, and six-times Champions League winner, has become a minority owner at mid-table Championship club Swansea City.

The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder, 39, has been planning for a career after he retires and has agreed to buy a small but unstated stake in the south Wales (Abertawe) side, who are 12th in the second tier, but have been a Premier League club.

“This is an exciting opportunity. Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fan base, and the ambition to compete at the highest level,” Modric told The Times. “Playing at the highest level, I believe I can provide my experience to the club. My goal is to support the club’s growth in a positive way and to help to build an exciting future.”

Modric’s link with Swansea or their new owners is unclear. The club have been through a turbulent time since the highs of winning promotion to the Premier League in 2011, lifting the Carabao Cup in 2013 and reaching the last 32 of the Europa League the following campaign. They were relegated from the top flight in 2018 and twice reached the Championship play-offs under Steve Cooper, in 2020 and 2021.

Since then, they have struggled in mid-table. This season they eased relegation concerns with a run of 14 points from eight matches after Alan Sheehan took caretaker charge after the departure of Luke Williams as head coach in February.

Off the pitch, the club were bought by Jason Levien, then managing general owner of the MLS side DC United, and Steve Kaplan, co-president of DC United, in 2016. The American pair paid about £75million for a majority stake but struggled to rebuild and faced criticism from supporters over their transfer dealings and their engagement with fans. They sold their stake in November last year to an investment group made up of the chairman at the time, Andy Coleman, and his fellow Americans Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen. Coleman has since stepped down.

The Swansea City Supporters’ Trust own about 9 per cent of the club, and Nigel Morris, a venture capitalist, owns 14 per cent. Swansea posted a pre-tax loss of £15.2million in their accounts for last season.

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