Could Conor McGregor really buy Chelsea, Man Utd or Celtic?
Fighter-turned-entrepreneur Conor McGregor is no stranger to making bold claims. In the ring, he tends to put his money where his mouth is - but after following up his recent interest in buying Chelsea FC by saying “I hereby put forward my offer of £1.5bn,” many are wondering just how serious the Irishman is.
Chelsea were put on the market by owner Roman Abramovich last week, following fears the Russian Billionaire would have his assets seized under UK sanctions.
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Having transformed Chelsea from a middling side to a Champions League winner and general European heavyweight, Abramovich’s asking price was reportedly £3 billion - but given the desperate circumstances, many believe the final number will be lower.
Still, all figures being discussed would be an enormous outlay for McGregor. So - could he actually buy Chelsea or any other team?
He has previously indicated an interest in Man Utd and Celtic...
How much money does Conor McGregor have?
The former UFC champion reportedly earned up to £25m for each of his high-profile fights. His other notable fighting exploit was his 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather; dubbed ‘The Biggest Fight in Combat Sports History’, the match is thought to have pocketed McGregor up to $130m.
But it’s his achievements outside of the ring that have been his biggest windfall. In 2021, the 33-year-old sold his majority shareholding in his whiskey company, Proper No. Twelve, reportedly earning the fighter and his business partners up to $600m. How much of this McGregor took home himself is unclear, but it certainly made him very rich.
But rich enough to buy a football club worth billions? On his own, that seems unlikely. As the figurehead of a consortium? That sounds possible, but he’ll have to move quickly. Either way, it seems unlikely McGregor has access to the funds needed to buy Chelsea.
Could McGregor buy Celtic or Manchester United instead?
Conor McGregor’s interest in Chelsea seems to have been a direct reaction to their situation, but he has a longstanding interest in buying a football club.
"A football franchise purchase is in my future make no mistake about it,” he tweeted.
The most heavily linked name has been Celtic, with McGregor tweeting and commentating several times about acquiring Dermot Desmond’s majority shareholding. Desmond currently owns 35% of Celtic, and with the club’s market cap sitting at £135m, this looks like a deal McGregor could feasibly complete. That said, Desmond has repeatedly insisted he’s not interested in selling.
That leaves Manchester United. McGregor has commented he’s explored purchasing the club from its current owners, the Glazer family - but this seems like his least likely claim yet.
According to Forbes, United are England’s most valuable club, worth $4.2bn - behind only Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona on the global market.
Unless McGregor has some staggeringly rich friends, he won’t have the purchasing power to acquire the red half of Manchester.
It’s probable his comments were posturing, meant to increase pressure on Abramovich or Desmond.
Who is going to buy Chelsea?
Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak seems like the forerunner in the chase to buy the London club.
“We are discussing the terms of Chelsea’s purchase with Roman Abramovich’s lawyers. We’re negotiating signatures. We will soon fly the Turkish flag in London,” he said last week.
“Our lawyers and Roman Abramovich’s have been in touch since the first day Chelsea entered the sales process.
“The negotiation process has come to an end and we are planning to sign soon. This sale is also very important for Turkey.”
We don’t know yet how substantiated Bayrak’s confidence is, but given the Turk’s reported net wealth of £8billion, he probably has the financial muscle to outbid anything McGregor can muster.
