Will Rangers Join The Increasing Number Of American Owned Clubs?

Key terms have been agreed for American owners to takeover Rangers by the end of the current season, after a deal in principle has been made. They are rumoured to be taken over by a US-based consortium, which includes NFL team San Francisco 49ers, as Rangers look to be joining the increasing number of American owned clubs.

BREAKING: A deal for Rangers to be taken over by US investors has been agreed in principle 🤝 pic.twitter.com/r9xSVIEW0k

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 3, 2025

After falling behind their Old Firm rivals in Celtic over recent years, the two leaders of the consortium want to “inject additional capital” into the club as they look to improve resources both on and off the pitch.

This deal is looking highly likely to go through, meaning Rangers will add to a growing list of American owned clubs in football, but who will they be joining and how well are current US-owned clubs run?

American Owned Premier League And EFL Clubs

Over half of the Premier League clubs are either majority controlled or part-owned by American investors or consortiums. This list of English top-flight clubs includes four of the Premier League’s “big six”, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. Meanwhile Manchester City is also minority owned by a US group.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all have American owners 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/vlqyey29Va

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 31, 2022

US investment firms are interested in owning or part-owning Premier League largely down to the financial gain from revenue and sponsorship deals made every season. In the first season of the Premier League, the league made a revenue of £205 million, however in more recent times, they are now generating over £6 billion in revenue in just one season.

Many success stories have been built upon American ownership too. For example, Ipswich’s recent back-to-back promotion from the third tier to the Premier League. Or Aston Villa being taken over in 2018 by an American asset manager, who have helped the Midlands side get out of the Championship and pushed them into the top eight of the Champions League within seven years.

Moreover, if we look further down the divisions, the take over of Villa’s rivals Birmingham City, which includes seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, have helped to push them back into the Championship, and only four points off an EFL points record with three games to play.

BIRMINGHAM CITY ARE LEAGUE ONE CHAMPIONS! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/50bISeGYz4

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 12, 2025

Also in League One, we have Hollywood’s fairytale club, AFC Wrexham. A club in North-Eastern Wales and bought by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2021, they have taken them from non-league football in the fifth tier of the English pyramid, to the brink of reaching the second tier.

What About Scottish Clubs?

The UK seems to be a hotspot for attracting potential American suitors, however, Glasgow Rangers would certainly become the biggest name on the list for Scotland. Teams who are owned by American firms currently, include Hibernian, St Johnstone, Dunfermline, and both Dundee clubs as the biggest names on the list thus far.

Investors from America are expected to continue buying into the growth of Scottish football and Rangers look to just be the newest addition to a list which is expected to only increase in years to come. This purchase might help reach a wider audience in America also since Rangers have some degree of a European image, since they have performed well in the Europa League in recent years, most notably making the final in 2022.

Are These Clubs Well Run?

There is largely very mixed feelings with fans in England about how well run American owned clubs are. BlueCo, led by Todd Boehly, does not go down well with many Chelsea fans. Whether it be with transfers, academy, or selling the own assets to themselves to enable loopholes around profit and sustainability rules (PSR), there are many factors that fans disagree with. For example, Boehly recently sold the Chelsea Women’s team to the club’s parent company in BlueCo, in order to report a profit for the 2023/24 season, to avoid a breach of PSR.

Ryan Reynolds is a genius.

In 2021, he bought Wrexham FC for $2.5M…

Now?

It’s worth $128.7M (a 4,900% increase).

Here’s the story of the world’s first viral soccer team: pic.twitter.com/VzkT6vg2ng

— Christian Mullican (@cpmullican) March 17, 2025

On the other hand however, Wrexham have seen some very good numbers financially, seeing significant revenue growth since the Hollywood takeover. The financial growth also translated to success on the pitch, as they are on the verge of Championship football next season.