Latest news with #2.Bundesliga
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Gareth Bale in talks to become surprise co-owner of English football club
US investment groups have increasingly used celebrity faces to front their takeovers of English football clubs, with Gareth Bale the latest to be tapped up to full that role Gareth Bale is in talks to front an American takeover of League One side Plymouth Argyle. The Pilgrims were relegated to the third tier this season following a disastrous reign of Wayne Rooney as manager. Rooney was sacked in January after winning just four games to be replaced by Miron Muslic. But the Bosnian decided to take over the head coach role at side Schalke after Plymouth's relegation was confirmed. Former Watford manager Tom Cleverley is their third boss of the past 12 months and has been tasked with leading them back to the Championship. But Cleverley himself could have a new boss. Cleverley was appointed by current Argyle chairman Simon Hallett. But Hallett has been looking for fresh investment in the club for the past year, having become the majority shareholder in 2018. A deal for further investment fell through last month, but the interest of a US-based private equity group is growing. They are now looking to bring in a celebrity face in the form of former Tottenham and Real Madrid star Bale. According to the Daily Telegraph, Bale is being lined up by the group eyeing a takeover of Plymouth. Talks between the club and the group are ongoing, with Bale's involvement an unexpected addition to the story. The Welshman has no historic connection to the Home Park side. But US groups have increasingly looked to partner with famous faces in any deals to buy clubs operating below the Premier League. Bale's former team-mate at Spurs and Madrid, Luka Modric, is involved with Swansea City. NFL legend Tom Brady has invested in Birmingham City, while golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas have bought shares in Leeds United. It is unclear how Bale has become involved in the project. He won three La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues during his time at Madrid, before retiring in 2023 after a short spell with Los Angeles FC. Relegation came as a bitter blow for Argyle, with the club finishing three points from safety. Hallett has led significant off-field investment, with the South Coast side redeveloping their Mayflower Grandstander and funding new academy facilities. Amid the talk over fresh investment, Hallett has pledged to match the level of funding a new group brings in this season. Though he admitted last month that he felt new investment was not forthcoming. 'We have been in talks with a prospective new investor in our club for over a year – those talks led to an application for approval of that investment being lodged with the EFL in February,' he said at the time. 'Unfortunately, negotiations have taken too long and the key information that both we and the EFL required to complete the deal has not been forthcoming. I no longer believe that news of the new investor is imminent.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Gerhard Struber set to be named Bristol City manager
Bristol City are set to name Gerhard Struber as the team's new manager according to reports. Journalist John Percy of Telegraph Sport is reporting that the Robins will hire the Austrian ahead of alternative candidate Rob Edwards. Advertisement City finished sixth in the Championship last season before losing in their play-off semi-final to Sheffield United with manager Liam Manning leaving to join Norwich City. Struber's first job in English football was with Barnsley when he helped the Tykes avoid relegation in the 2019/20 season. After leaving Barnsley, Struber took charge of New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg before joining 1. FC Köln for the 2024/25 season. Despite helping Köln earn promotion to the Bundesliga, Struber was sacked with two games left to play with his team second in the league. Die Geißböcke eventually won the 2. Bundesliga after Friedhelm Funkel guided the team to two victories in their final two games.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bayer Leverkusen prospect Francis receives loan out to Bochum
The 18-year-old who became Bayer Leverkusen's eighth youngest professional this year will receive a chance to hone his skills in the 2. Bundesliga next season. Germany U18 international Francis Onyeka received a contract extension (through 2028) and loan out to VfL Bochum on Tuesday. Onyeka made two first-team appearances with Leverkusen this season in the DFB Pokal and Champions League. The versatile attacker – who has proven himself capable of playing at the six, eight, and ten positions – won the Fritz Walter Medal as the greatest talent in the DFB's U-17 division after 2023/24 season. He reached the final of the German A-Junior Championship with Leverkusen's U19 team this year. Advertisement 'Francis Onyeka has developed into an outstanding player in Bayer 04's youth ranks in recent years,' Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes noted in a club statement. 'He will continue to improve in Bochum through regular appearances at a high level. VfL gets a great talent who can then make the step up to a player with excellent opportunities at Bayer 04.' '[Onyeka is] one of the most talented players of his age group in Germany and has had an exceptional season,' Bochum sporting director Dirk Dufner added in his own statement. 'His technical skills and attacking instincts caught our attention, especially as he has already been able to acclimate to a high training level and playing with the pros and has also taken on responsibility as captain of the U19 team.' 'I've always been impressed by the atmosphere [in Bochum],' Onyeka himself said. 'I hope I can convince and get as much playing time as possible. The 2. Bundesliga is physically demanding and it will be a real challenge.' GGFN | Peter Weis
Glasgow Times
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Rangers 'working on' first signing as Almamy Toure targeted
On Friday, the Ibrox club confirmed their US takeover had gone through as they heralded in a new era. And the first signing of the regime could be a defender on a free transfer. Centre-back Almamy Toure is a free agent after leaving side Kaiserslautern and Africa Foot say Rangers have already started work on attempting to lure him to Glasgow. Read more: Inside Russell Martin's 'brilliant' Rangers interview as BBC pundit reveals all Tottenham confirm exit of former Celtic star Fraser Forster The 29-year-old can play at centre half or right-back and was highly-rated as he came through at Monaco along with the likes of Kylian Mbappe. He signed for Eintracht Frankfurt and won the Europa League in 2022, beating Rangers on penalties in Seville. It is claimed his wage was at Kaiserslautern was £8,000 a week, making him very attainabe.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🇩🇪 Bundesliga's smallest-ever play-off starts Thursday, all you need to know
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here. The Bundesliga 24/25 playoff, between Heidenheim and Evelsberg, will decide the last participant of the next season of the German elite. And you can follow everything, LIVE and FREE, here on !If you don't remember very well how the Relegation works (for the Germans), we'll explain! The 16th place in the BuLi faces the 3rd place in the to decide if we will have three clubs relegated in the First Division - or three promotions - next season. Of the 26 playoffs in the history of German football, 20 were won by the elite team, 77%, according to Bundesliga information. In the cut of the last 12 playoffs, 11 were won by the team trying to avoid relegation - which makes Heidenheim the favorite in the match, at least, on the side of the statistics. Heidenheim, with about 50,000 inhabitants, facing Elversberg, with 13,000, represents the "smallest" playoff of all time. For an idea, last season's playoff, between Bochum and Fortuna Düsseldorf, opposed cities with 372,000 people and 613,000, respectively. In 2022/23, Stuttgart, with 632,000 inhabitants, escaped relegation against HSV, from Hamburg - the second largest city in Germany, with 1.85 million. If Elversberg achieves promotion, it will become the smallest team in history to compete in the Bundesliga, being the 59th different club to participate in the German football elite. They [Heidenheim] have assembled a quality squad that can play in the Bundesliga and the Conference League. They are very flexible and can change during the phases of the game... We will do our best to influence the match with our performance and then we have to hope that the opponent may not be so connected, so that we can take advantage of it. Elversberg has been on a journey to get to this chance to make history. In the 2021/22 season, the club was in the Southwest Regionalliga - the fourth division of German football -, and this is only its second season in the The team led by Horst Steffen scored 58 points in 34 games, finishing just one point behind the runner-up Hamburg, which went up directly, alongside the champion Cologne. They scored 64 goals, less only than Cologne, and had the best defense in the Second Division, with 37 conceded. Only striker Fisnik Asllani scored 18 goals, finishing on the podium of the top scorers, behind Martijn Kaars (19), from Magdeburg, and Davie Selke (22), from HSV. Heidenheim and Elversberg have only faced each other twice in history, in the 3. Liga of 2013/14. Heidenheim won once, by 1 x 0, with a draw, at 1 x 1, in the other game of the season. Frank Schmidt, coach of Heidenheim, Horst Steffen, praised his rival this Thursday, in a recent interview. For me, [Steffen] is the coach of the year. When I see what he achieved with Elversberg, how he managed to assemble a team that plays such successful football. I have great respect for him. That's why I'm also looking forward to this confrontation, because we can show that we can assert ourselves against them. Heidenheim surprised in the Bundesliga, less than a year ago, when it debuted in the German elite, finishing in eighth place, with a spot in the Uefa Conference League playoffs. The dispute in the European competition, however, had a cost in the performance in the Bundesliga. The club flirted with relegation for much of the season, and needed a surge, already at the end, to secure the playoff. So, who will be present in the Bundesliga 2025/26? 📸 Christian Kaspar-Bartke - 2025 Getty Images
