Forest’s Greek Tycoon: Why Evangelos Marinakis Breaks the Mould of Modern Owners

When Evangelos Marinakis strode into the City Ground in 2017, many neutrals assumed Nottingham Forest had landed just another absentee billionaire. Instead, the Greek shipping magnate has become the most hands-on, emotionally charged proprietor English football has seen in years. From a transfer spree that dwarfed anything Forest had attempted in their proud history to a habit of confronting managers on the pitch, Marinakis’s tenure reads like a Netflix script in real time. The question now is whether his high-octane style represents a clever new model for ambitious clubs, or is it a candle burning at both ends.

Evangelos Marinakis – 8 years at #NFFC ✅

🔴 Took us from midtable Champ to Premier League
🌳 Invested heavily in players & infrastructure
🏟️ Upgraded the City Ground & training facilities
🤝 Fought Forest’s corner in boardrooms & backrooms

1/2 pic.twitter.com/VA8rX9O6R5

— Forest Fun & Facts (@DaysUntilForest) July 16, 2025

A Shipping Empire with Football in its DNA

Marinakis made his fortune through Capital Maritime & Trading, which included a fleet of more than 70 vessels hauling oil and gas around the globe. Though, this money alone is not the sole reason behind his football obsession. He grew up worshipping Olympiacos, who he managed to acquire in 2010, and still attends games flanked by red-smoked flares and ultras, before that raw passion followed him to the East Midlands. When his £50 million takeover of Forest was rubber-stamped, Marinakis called the club a “sleeping European champion” and vowed to bring continental nights back to the banks of the Trent.

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has gone on the attack in a lengthy statement about the Nuno Espirito Santo rowhttps://t.co/WgagoEH6E1 pic.twitter.com/DlDrN5PR5s

— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) May 13, 2025

Spending Like There’s No Tomorrow & The Managerial Carousel

Promotion finally arrived in 2022 – and Marinakis went to work. In the 2022-23 season alone, Forest signed 28 players, smashing the British record for newcomers in a single window. By February 2024 that tally had risen to 43 and the outlay topped £200 million.

Outsiders laughed, calling the policy scatter-gun, inside the ground, however, it felt like oxygen after 23 years away. Superstar loanees such as Keylor Navas rubbed shoulders with canny buys like Morgan Gibbs-White and Murillo, and just a year later, that criticised scatter-gun had hit the target. Forest survived, stabilised, then climbed, helped by a £250 million commercial deal that widened the wage ceiling further.

If the transfer churn raised eyebrows, the dug-out door spun even faster. Since 2019 Marinakis has removed five managers, which includes, Martin O’Neill, Sabri Lamouchi, Chris Hughton, Steve Cooper and, for 48 panicked hours last winter, Nuno Espírito Santo. The Portuguese survived after steering Forest to seventh – their best finish in three decades – and has since been rewarded with a deal until 2028. That said, the extension looked rather unlikely in April when Marinakis stormed onto the pitch to confront Nuno after a late Leicester equaliser dented Champions League hopes. “I am proud of him,” the owner insisted afterwards, claiming the heated exchange was simply two passionate men demanding better.

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis went on the pitch at full-time to remonstrate with Nuno Espirito Santo after the 2-2 draw against Leicester 🌳 pic.twitter.com/CdAMHbhTwe

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 11, 2025

Sustainability – or a Tightrope - is it a Blueprint?

Forest’s wage bill has quadrupled since promotion, and although revenue has grown, the club still walks a Profit-and-Sustainability tightrope. Marinakis briefly stepped back from day-to-day duties in April while lawyers untangled dual-ownership issues with Olympiacos, to ensure Forest could compete in Europe next year.

His defenders argue the model is evolving with this summer’s business looking pretty measured – loans with options, plenty of resale on the horizon, and a net spend projected below £40 million despite interest in Juventus winger Timothy Weah. And so, if Forest can pair European football with canny trading, Marinakis may prove that front-foot ambition and compliance are not mutually exclusive.

Marinakis speaking back in 2019

Sign, sealed and delivered promotion back to the Premier league 💫 #NFFC pic.twitter.com/OxsUWKBFwO

— Murillooo5 (@Murillooo5) July 20, 2022

Ultimately, Marinakis breaks the mould by being visible, which is rather rare in the modern day. He is neither a silent consortium chief nor a sovereign-wealth avatar, he is the guy shouting from the directors’ box, signing cheques on Monday and WhatsApping the kit-man on Tuesday.

For now, Forest ride the wave, with season-ticket sales at a twenty-year high, the Trent End sings of European nights, and Marinakis remains front and centre, sleeves rolled, voice hoarse, dreaming out loud. It might end in glory, it might end in tears – but it will never, ever be boring.