Thirty-three years after its forced conversion into a sports limited company, it became Atletico Madrid The owner changes. According to the statement published by the club itself on Monday, the main shareholders of the red and white entity “reached an agreement so that… Apollo … Sports capital (ASC), Apollo’s global sports investment firm, becomes majority shareholder.
Apollo is a powerful American investment fund. His total assets on September 30 were estimated at $908,000 million (€785,000 million). Although the information provided so far does not specify the exact sum or amount of the majority package acquired, they amount to approximately 55% and 2.5 billion euros respectively.
As of yesterday, the shares of the Red and White Club were distributed as follows: Atletico Holdco, 70.39%divided between Miguel Angel Gil Marin (35.57%), Ares Management, also an American fund (23.77%) and Enrique Cerezo (10.65%); Quantum Pacifican Israeli investor company Idan Ofer27.81%; Minority shareholders 1.80%.
“As part of the agreement, Miguel Angel Gil and Enrique Cerezo “They will continue to lead Atletico Madrid as CEO and President respectively, and will remain as shareholders, ensuring the continuity, vision and leadership of the project,” the press release read. The above-mentioned owners, who are henceforth a minority, in addition to continuing their association with the public sports company Limited, receive huge profits in the largest sale of a Spanish sports club. In approximate numbers, Gil Marin will receive 700 million; Ares, 500; quantum, 450; and Cerezo, 250.
Earnings are not without controversy. As soon as the arrival of the new American owners was confirmed, the most important sector of mattress lovers remembered with sadness and indignation the fraud through which it had been carried out Jesus generation after generationfather of Jill Marin, W Enrique Cerezoacquired Atlético in 1992, when Spain’s Sports Law created the Sports Companies Number (SAD) and forced the first and second football clubs and ACB basketball clubs with debts to switch to SAD in order to benefit from a financial restructuring plan.
only Athletic, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Osasuna They are exempted from this legal obligation. Others had to carry out actions quickly and continuously. Atletico almost did not achieve this. He achieved this in the last hour of the last day prescribed by Islamic law. And so at 11:30 p.m. On June 30, 1992, Jesús Gil, its president since 1987, and Enrique Cerezo, vice president, were deposited in Supreme Council for Sports 1.950 million pesetas (11.7 million euros).
Jesús Gil y Gil (right) was president of Atletico from 1987 to 2003; Jesús Gil Marin (left) was Chancellor and Vice President from 1987 to 2004; Miguel Angel Gil Marin has been the club’s CEO since 2002.
There were two loans from Vitoria Bank And who Credit Lyonnais Of 1,300 and 650 million pesetas that avoided the club’s relegation to the second division The second b They made Gil the biggest contributor to the team. Days later, when Atlético officially became a public limited company, the president sent a letter asking the club to transfer those 1,950 million deposited in the entity’s account to one of his personal bank accounts. When he received the money, he returned the loans to the two aforementioned banks.
stipulated crime
In addition, Gil acquired Cerezo shares and also acquired 112 million pesetas which represented 5% of the club’s capital held by the red and white members. In all, without paying a single peseta, he became authorized president with 95% of the shares.
In 1999, Anti-Corruption Public Prosecution He filed a complaint that led to Atletico’s judicial intervention. In February 2003, the National Court sentenced Jesús Gil to three years and six months in prison for fraud and embezzlement and ordered him to deposit Atlético shares in court, although he retained control of the club until the appeal was decided before the court. supreme court. The National Court’s ruling also identified Enrique Cerezo as a “necessary collaborator” and Miguel Angel Gil, then Atletico’s general manager, as a participant in the crime of fraud due to the simulation of a contract.
A year later, in 2004, the Supreme Court declared Jesús Gil’s misappropriation extinguished, since it had occurred in 1992, and acquitted Enrique Cerezo. “There was a crime of appropriation, a different issue is whether it was provided for.”acknowledges the award. Neither Gil, who had already died at that time, nor Cerezo nor Gil Marin had to return their shares in Atlético SAD.
Now, they’ve sold it to Apollo, which is their business plan “Providing new capital to support the club’s long-term plansincluding additional investment in Atletico Madrid teams and in important infrastructure projects. Among them is development Sports CityA new sports and entertainment center next to the Metropolitano Stadium. The goal of this project is to become a world-renowned destination for sports, entertainment, culture and community activity. With Apollo’s extensive experience in the sports, media and entertainment sector, ASC aspires to create a dynamic, transformative and multidisciplinary urban center to serve the population of Madrid.
Robert GivonyApollo Partner and Co-Director of ASC, explained in the same vein: “Atlético Madrid is one of the major sporting institutions in Europe and It is a great honor to invest in this historic club and its legacy spanning more than 120 years. Miguel Ángel has done an exceptional job in transforming Atletico and it was essential for us to invest in supporting the continuity of his leadership, as well as investing in the team and the local community.
Gil Marin, quoted by Givony, confirmed the expectations of the agreement: “Looking to the future, together we see a great opportunity to drive strong and sustainable growth for Atletico based on our heritage. It was important to me to have a long-term investment partner who believed in our strategy It can enhance our off-field activities With the development of the sports city.
ASC’s investment is subject to compliance with customary closing conditions, including regulatory authorizations, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026. The operation includes the two Rojiblanco franchise clubs, Atletico San Luis of Mexico and Atletico Ottawa Canadian, which also became owned by the American fund.
Atlético will become the main sports investment for ASC, which has also invested capital in tennis tournaments Mutua Madrid Open and Miami Open. However, yesterday’s statement wanted to clarify that his joining the Spanish capital’s football club “is not part of a timeshare strategy to control the club”.
About The Author
