Nottingham Forest resuscitation: Greek, bookmakers and the way back to the elite
Nottingham Forest resuscitation: Greek, bookmakers and the way back to the elite
Everything changed in 2017, when the club was bought by Greek billionaire Evangelos Marinakis, who also manages Olympiacos. In Piraeus, he is doing steadily (albeit without a trophy extravaganza), but in England he decided to stir up a restart. A lot has happened in 7 years:
🔥 At first, the coaches flew like in a subway turnstile - six specialists in five seasons. It seemed that the club was doomed to chaos, but in the long run, the strategy worked.
🔥 Marinakis has introduced a new transfer model: betting on young players, who can then be sold profitably.
🔥 He introduced a salary cap of about £18k a week so as not to waste the budget on the "golden boys", as his neighbors in the Premier League do.
🔥 In the summer of 2022, Nottingham arranged the shopping of the century - 21 players for £136 million. But the foundation for the future was laid.
Attention fans
Marinakis understood: without fans, the project would not take off. Ticket and season ticket prices were reduced, and the fan movement was given more influence. The plans include the reconstruction of the City Ground and the academy, the estimate is about £50 million.
Result
For the first time in 23 years, the club gained a foothold in the Premier League and ceased to be an "elevator operator". Now Nottingham holds a solid 7th place, has a lot of promising youth and a strong academy that churns out talents.
Where does the money come from?
In addition to Marinakis' personal investments, collabs with bookmakers played a huge role In one of the matches, the club simultaneously advertised seven (!) different operators, from Bet365 to Parimatch and Betway. The title partner is Kaiyun Sports, plus there was a contract with Parimatch in the 2024-2025 season. 💰
Two-Faced Master
In Greece, Marinakis has his own reputation: the fleet, the media, scandals. He was accused of corruption, and of collusion, and other murky things. But he has won all the courts so far. In Britain, they prefer to turn a blind eye to this - while the Greek regularly pours money into football.
Total
A cunning businessman, millions from his personal pocket and solid sponsorship contracts with the Beeches - and now Nottingham Forest is again in the elite of English football. The once legendary club, which has sunk to the bottom, is now again among those who knock on the door of European competitions.
