Who is the owner of Southampton FC?

Who is the owner of Southampton FC?

Southampton FC is an English Football Club playing in the English Premier League. The team have not been very consistent over the years and are still trying to cement their name as a threat to the big clubs in the same division. The club have shown signs of improvement under the guidance of Ralph Hasenhüttl, who has his own brand of football to offer.

But the main challenge for the team have been to find the consistency that has seen them finish in the bottom half of the table quite often. The team boasts of some good talents like Nathan Redmond, Danny Ings, Jannik Vestergaard, and James Ward-Prowse, who can cause problems to any team on a given day. The team just need to find the right balance and produce the good work week in week out to achieve success.

Gao Jisheng and the takeover of Southampton

Gao Jisheng is the owner of Southampton FC

Gao Jisheng is the current majority shareholder of Southampton Football Club after the Chinese businessman purchased an 80% stake in the St Mary’s club in the year 2017. Gao had spent around £210 million acquiring the stake in the club, making the purchase from Katharina Liebherr, who inherited control of Saints from her late father, Markus, in 2010. The Liebherr family, who still own a 20% stake in Saints, had bought the football in 2009 after the club had been in administration.

FS Video

When Gao finally took over the club in his second attempt in August 2017, The Guardian reported that there had been more than 12 months of talks going on, with the investment eventually made by Gao and his daughter Nelly. On stamping his authority as the club’s majority shareholder, Gao said:

“I am honoured and humbled to become a partner of Southampton Football Club alongside Katharina Liebherr, who, together with her father, has been such a great steward of the club, its growth and success.”

Net worth of Southampton FC

St. Mary's Stadium is the home ground of Southampton FC

The net worth of Southampton FC is around $6 billion. The club uses the St. Mary’s Stadium as its home ground that has a seating capacity of 32,384. The club made a huge loss during the financial year of 2019-20 which amounted to a whopping £76.1 million. The club’s main losses are due to the fact that they have not been able to feature in the major European competitions over the years and are yet to find consistency in their brand of football.

But the gaffer has shown faith in his players though the club finished 15th in the 2020/21 season and would look to continue the good work which could further result in good financial reports. The losses were also majorly due to the pandemic situation which had affected not only Southampton but other clubs as well. So the loss did not come as much of a surprise but the figures definitely need to improve for the fans as well as every other person related to the club.

Also Read: Who is the owner of Leicester City FC?