Croatian football legend Luka Modrić is now a minority owner of English Football League (EFL) club Swansea City.
Modrić has become a co-owner and investor of the Welsh football club after investing in the club that was cleared by majority owners made up of a consortium led by Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, Jason Cohen and Nigel Morris.
The quartet secured majority ownership of Swansea last November when it completed its acquisition of the club from previous owners Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien.
The 39-year-old Modrić expressed his delight at being part of the Swansea ownership group and confirmed he will be lending his experience at competing at the highest-level of football in order to support the club’s future growth.
Modrić stated: “This is an exciting opportunity. Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fanbase, and the ambition to compete at the highest level.
“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.”
Turning 40-years-old in September, and with his contract at Real Madrid set to expire this summer, Modrić may have one eye on his career after football.
The Swansea investment is the first business venture for Modrić in football. His only other notable investment came in March, where he acquired a 50% stake in Croatian business Zeppelin Craft Brewery.
Swansea is not a complete stranger to Modrić either, as he played against the club during his time at Tottenham Hotspur throughout the 2011/12 Premier League season. Since then, Modrić became one of the most decorated players of the modern era, winning six Champions Leagues, four La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey trophies among others, with Real Madrid.
Swansea Chief Executive, Tom Gorridge, believes that Modrić’s status, combined with his leadership of captaining Real Madrid and the Croatian national team, will become a role model for the first team to inspire them on their quest for Premier League promotion.
He said: “There is no better role model in the game for our players, from the academy right through to the first team.
“His endorsement of our ambition and willingness to support us on our journey will be instrumental as we aim to continue to improve our results on and off the pitch.
“In our conversations, he has demonstrated his passion for the club, his knowledge of how we are performing, and a genuine passion to help us improve.”
Modrić to lend magic to struggling Swans?
Swansea currently sit 12th in the EFL Championship with promotion seemingly unlikely being nine points off the play-off positions with four games left to play this season.
The club last competed in the Premier League in 2018 and have competed in the EFL Championship ever since. The club reported a pre-tax loss of £15.2m in its last financial year and while this was a decrease from the £17.9m pre-tax loss from the year prior, the club has been in an internal war. between previous owners Kaplan and Levien and the Swansea City Supporter’s Trust.
The club’s supporter’s trust, who own a 21% stake in the club, were left angered regarding the negotiation details of Kaplan and Levien’s 2016 acquisition, coupled with disappointing performances on the pitch season upon season.
Now under new leadership, with the addition of Modrić, Swansea are looking to overturn its fortunes and become a competitive team competing for promotion to the Premier League.
Within its financial year statement, the club said: “The Board acknowledges that whilst the magnitude of the operational loss is a product of the highly competitive environment within the EFL Championship in which the club currently competes; the club will continue to focus on achieving operational efficiencies in order to maximise the resources which can be invested into the first team squad.
“The costs of operating a stadium and two training facilities are significant and are growing. In the absence of any immediate prospect of an redistribution agreement between the EFL and the Premier League then the club will continue to be reliant on the support of its ownership group as the main source of funding.”
