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Celebrities move into football

Four Four Two has a special feature on celebrity involvement in football.  We all know about Wrexham, but I was surprised at the extent and breadth of the involvement.   Who would have thought that tennis Naumi Osaka (she of kimono fame) would have a stake in North Carolina Courage?

Harry Redknapp recalls that when he joined West Ham as a player the chairman was a Mr Pratt who owned the wood yard over in Wanstead.   Redknapp admits that he does not know who Snoop Dogg is.   I am from an analog age, but even I know that.

The rapper turned up for Swansea's match against Preston in February.  The marvelously named Prestgon gaffer Paul Heckingbottom commented, 'Just the smell of weed in the tunnel is the only thing where we realised something was different.'

Quite a few of the investors are celebrity footballers or at least retired footballers with money to splash.  They include Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.   I'm not sure that Hector Bellerin made a wise investment when he put £250,000 into Forest Green Rovers only to see back-to-back relegations.   The attraction was not the Forest of Dean but the club's eco friendly image.

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