Whether football fans like it or not, spending is intrinsically linked to success.
The more a club spends on signing players and wages, the more chance they have of winning trophies.
Okay, there is the occasional miracle story.
For example, when Leicester won the Premier League in the 2015/16 season, their entire squad cost just £54.4 million.
To put that into context, Manchester City spent that amount on one player in the summer of 2015 - Kevin De Bruyne.
But that’s why these stories are miracles. Something like that doesn’t happen often.
Instead, whichever club has the biggest budget tends to succeed.
The biggest clubs in the world will always have hefty budgets. The likes of Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the most supported clubs in the world and have huge revenue streams.
But other clubs who don’t quite have the same worldwide appeal have to rely on their owners to invest heavily in order to compete at the very top.
Quiz: Can you name the footballer based on their Wikipedia page?
That has become the case in recent years with owners bankrolling clubs which has seen them rise up the ranks to heights they previously couldn’t reach.
But which owners in the sport of football are the wealthiest?
Well, the Daily Star have listed the 10 richest owners in football and it makes for interesting reading.
Let’s take a look:
10) Robert Kraft – New England Revolution ($6bn)
Kraft is CEO of Kraft group - is a group of privately held companies in the professional sports, manufacturing, and real estate development industries.
He also owns NFL giants New England Patriots.
9) Zhang Jindong – Inter Milan ($7.6bn)
Jindong made his billions through domestic appliances, before his company, the Suning Holdings Group, became the majority owners of Inter in 2016.
The Chinese business owner oversaw Inter winning their first Serie A title in 11 years last season.
8) Nasser Al-Khelaifi – Paris Saint Germain ($8bn)
Al Khelaifi is the head of the media outlet, beIN.
His billions have helped bring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to the club.
7) Stan Kroenke – Arsenal ($9bn)
The American also owns Denver Nuggets in the NBA and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL.
He became majority shareholder back in 2018 but hasn’t exactly spent his billions at the Emirates.
6) Philip Anschutz – LA Galaxy ($10bn)
Anschutz was one of the founding members of the MLS and his money has helped bring the likes of David Beckham and Steven Gerrard to the club.
He has ventures in real estate, oil and the entertainment industry.
5) Roman Abramovich – Chelsea ($12bn)
Abramovich's takeover in 2003 changed Premier League football and he’s brought success to Chelsea.
He doesn’t look like he’s interested in stopping his spending.
4) Dietmar Hopp – TSG 1899 Hoffenheim ($13bn)
Hopp has transformed his hometown club into a Bundesliga regular. He’s the eighth richest man in Germany and helped pay for a new 30,000 stadium.
3) Andrea Agnelli – Juventus ($14bn)
Agnelli’s grandfather and father both owned Juventus having earned their money by producing motor brands such as Ferrari.
The family have owned the club since 1947 and has overseen plenty of success.
2) Dietrich Mateschitz – RB Leipzig ($19bn)
The Austrian billionaire is the joint-owner of…you guessed it… Red Bull.
Despite being formed in 2009, Leipzig are now pushing European giants and reached the Champions League semi-finals in the 2019/20 season.
1) Sheikh Mansour – Manchester City ($20bn)
Man City’s owner is the wealthiest of them all.
His investment has seen the club win five Premier League titles while they’re still looking for their maiden Champions League triumph.
Through the City network group, he also owns other clubs such as MLS side New York City and A-league outfit Melbourne City.
