Football Dynasty

Chapter 151: Set Up Maddox Football Group

First of all, a senior member of UEFA’s Legal & Disciplinary Committee, Lennart Johansson, is on his side, which means, from UEFA alone, he already has his insider.

(see Chapters 67–68: European Court of Justice case).

Now, the only real concern they face is FIFA. However, Richard believes the organization will likely turn a blind eye, since they already have so much on their plate.

Lack of transparency, internal political maneuvering, and accusations of favoritism, corruption, and backroom dealings during João Havelange’s presidency. Richard believes what Havelange needs now is support, not another enemy.

All of Richard’s plans working together with Pelé had already started to bear fruit. His £700,000 was not in vain.

Now, if he wants to acquire or invest in another club, the best-case scenario would be to follow the Glazers’ later approach to buying Manchester United by using a holding company called Red Football Ltd., which is largely financed through debt.

This would allow him to take over the club while shielding his personal liability, leveraging the club’s assets for loans, and consolidating ownership legally with maximum control.

"You forgot one thing," Lewis said suddenly. "While you already know about UEFA and FIFA, you overlooked the leagues. The FA and FFF won’t let you openly control both clubs."

"But City didn’t disrupt international competitions, and I also had no significant political or financial ties to FIFA or any football federation."

At the end of the day, everything still comes down to conflicts of interest regarding multi-club ownership.

"Which means, for next season, I don’t need to worry about this, right? City will still be in the First Division. At worst, they’ll just force me to sell it. This turmoil in France is actually the best situation, as most owners are uncomfortable with the growing scrutiny on club ownership and governance. This uncertainty will drive their prices down to the lowest."

"Still, it’s obvious. Everyone knows you’re the chairman of Manchester City. If you meddle with another club—"

Richard spread his hands wide, gesturing for Lewis to stop.

"Instead of trying to take full control, I would acquire only a minority stake. Mathematically, as long as it’s just 1% to 29.9%, it should be safe, right? As long as I don’t pass the threshold, then everything should be fine."

Not to take full control or turn it into the best club in the world. After all, he already owned a club—so why bother going all in on what many would call a farmer’s league in the future?

"This is why I need your help," Richard said to Lewis seriously.

"To set up offshore companies?" Lewis had already guessed what Richard had in mind.

To set up an offshore company.

This strategy was used by Roman Abramovich to acquire Chelsea, initially to minimize tax liabilities. Although Abramovich eventually became the public face of Chelsea, the original transaction was layered with legal intermediaries.

For his case, to avoid future problems related to club ownership, the best approach was a quiet entry, with no public visibility. That’s why the most effective solution was to set up an offshore company—to avoid political blowback. What’s most important is to create layer after layer to obscure his presence.

But Richard shook his head.

"No, the plan is to create a holding company solely for football. This holding company will be the public face of the club I acquire, aside from City."

The football-specific holding company acts as a legitimate, standalone entity, so any public or regulatory scrutiny will stop at this layer rather than reaching Richard directly.

Adam Lewis frowned at the idea. It made sense—perhaps too much sense—and that was exactly what unsettled him. He picked up the remaining documents, skimming through the details of OM’s ongoing case, before finally looking up.

"Why not just invest in a different club? Why France? Why go after one already caught up in a match-fixing scandal?" he asked, his brow knit with concern.

Richard already had the answer.

"The real challenge at Manchester City is attracting top players. We can’t compete with clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, or Manchester United. Our stadium and facilities need a lot of work. Take Paul Lake, for example—he just got injured, and it shows how poorly City handles its players. Those clubs are already competing at the highest level. Marseille is already a big club. On top of that..."

’If I bought Marseille, I could park players there. Then, when City reaches the Premier League, we could buy them at the lowest price. This way, I’d also have a steady pipeline of talent from France to supply City in the future—’

Wait a minute!

Richard suddenly stopped mid-thought as a realization hit him.

He quickly grabbed a sheet of paper listing the current teams in France’s Division 1 along with their starting lineups. Skimming through almost all of them, he finally—

"Adam, thank you so much for reminding me," Richard said suddenly, grateful.

His question had revealed a loophole in his own thinking that he hadn’t considered before.

That’s right. Why risk investing in a club caught up in a match-fixing scandal, when he could easily acquire a club that’s already brimming with talent? Moreover, what makes him think that Tapie doesn’t have his own puppet he can place at Marseille?

Richard then turned to Karren. "You told me to acquire a club so you could run it alone, right?"

She nodded.

Richard nodded back. "But it’s not free," he said.

Richard then tossed a document onto the table in front of her.

It detailed the businesses currently owned by Bernard Tapie: Bernard Tapie Finance, a cosmetics company called La Vie Claire, a scale manufacturer named Testut, and finally—the second thing he was truly eyeing—Adidas, the sports shoe company.

"When the time comes, when Tapie needs to sell his business, if you manage to secure Adidas for me, then congratulations."

Richard tapped the name of a football club, written in bold letters, in front of her.

It’s not Olympique de Marseille but FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

Why France, and why Bordeaux instead of Marseille?

First, France has a deep tradition of producing top-tier football talent, thanks in large part to its diverse, multicultural population, including a strong African influence. Many African players have roots in France or start their careers in French leagues, and French clubs have long been active in scouting across the African continent.

Second, why Bordeaux? The reason is simple. In their current starting lineup, they have three key players: Zinedine Zidane, Christophe Dugarry, and Bixente Lizarazu. Beyond that, Bordeaux could be used for talent development and as a pipeline to funnel French players to Manchester City.

Karren’s eyes lit up. She didn’t care which club it was, as long as she was at the top. She nodded seriously. "You promised?"

"Yes, and Maddox Capital will cover all your expenses while you’re in France. You have less than a year to persuade Tapie before the presidential election."

"Understood." She nodded, then quickly gathered her things, hurriedly bidding farewell, likely already preparing to get to work.

Once she was gone, only Richard and Adam Lewis remained.

"You trust her that much?" Lewis asked, curious.

Letting her run a club—who was she really?

Richard smiled faintly. He didn’t—and never would—trust her.

What he trusted was her ambition. Her obsession with using him as a stepping stone, just like she once used Birmingham City before jumping to West Ham in the future.

Richard shook his head but didn’t voice that thought. "Alright, Adam. I need your help now."

It was time to begin the legal structuring for the holding company.

"You’ll still need offshore companies if you want to stay hidden—especially if you’re targeting European clubs," Lewis warned still. _{𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪}

These business-friendly jurisdictions, known for their corporate privacy, offer strong legal protections, tax advantages, and, most importantly, confidentiality for the beneficial owners.

That’s why, if he wants to remain completely hidden in the long run, he needs to use these shell companies to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) dedicated solely to acquiring sports assets, like a stake in other clubs.

SPVs are commonly used to isolate financial risk and keep operations discrete. If anything goes wrong, the liability doesn’t trace back to Richard or his main businesses. This SPV would be the legal entity negotiating with the other’s Camp.

’SPV...’ Richard rubbed his chin in thought.

The future City Football Group and Qatar Sports Investments are examples of SPV-style holding companies before they finally formed a legal holding company to control not just one club, but many, including those in the U.S., Australia, Spain, and beyond. They are designed to isolate financial risk, manage global football assets, and navigate complex ownership rules across FIFA/UEFA.

"How do your clients usually do this?"

After all, legal matters weren’t his forte. He knew how many businessmen handled this kind of thing, mainly for tax evasion, but since this was his first time and he would be the one doing it, he couldn’t help but worry.

Lewis nodded, understanding how Richard felt.

Everyone was like this. At first, they were afraid, but because they needed it, they had no choice but to take the risk. Then, after the first time, the second, and the third, it became an obsession—first to hide their identity, then for tax evasion, and eventually, it only grew deeper from there.

"Your identity would be hidden behind nominee directors, trusts, or corporate entities as You wouldn’t be listed as a director or shareholder; instead, you would need to use legal proxies or local nominee services." Lewis explained. "That’s why most offshore companies are set up in neutral jurisdictions."

Richard frowned, clearly weighing the implications. Then he shook his head

"It’s still not enough," he said. "A holding company, then a shell company, and direct investment? That’s not going to work. The people here are sharp—like sharks. They’ll sniff me out. Help me think of another layer to add."

Lewis thought the plan was already obscure enough, but he didn’t say anything. He then began skimming through the FC Girondins de Bordeaux information.

"Then you can cover it up," He replied Richard, pointing to the current owner of Bordeaux, Groupe M6.

Football clubs were becoming increasingly expensive to run, with rising player wages, stadium maintenance costs, and the financial demands of competing in European competitions. M6 needed to balance the costs of managing Bordeaux with the profitability of its commercial television channel.

With the Brimmer scandal, every club will face increased scrutiny over its governance, and all owners of French clubs can see that the FFF will impose tighter regulations and reforms on French football.

Lewis continued, "This is the breakthrough. The company currently needs funds to sustain its second online broadcasting station. We’ll use an M&A advisor as an intermediary to approach them. They will represent the ’investor group’ without revealing you. Your SPV will be the direct buyer of Bordeaux shares."

"..."

"We’ll frame the offer as a ’strategic investment to revive and modernize the club,’ tying into M6’s need for capital. To make the transition look cooperative, don’t forget to include debt assumption or stadium investment as part of the deal structure—less upfront cash for M6, but long-term benefits."

"And the companies?" Richard asked. "How do I keep my name off them if I want to stay hidden? How do I inject money into them?"

"You fund the SPV through layered investments—other shell companies, trust funds, or private backers—to add complexity and separation," Lewis replied calmly.

"That’s it?"

Lewis sighed and decided to elaborate.

"It all stays behind the scenes. It’ll look like a domestic transaction, so it won’t raise any political red flags. Plus, involving a respected advisory firm adds legitimacy. It makes the whole thing appear as a professionally managed restructuring—not personal interference."

Think of it like this: Richard → Holding Company → Nominee Director → Shell Company → Another Nominee Director (Karren) → Advisory Firm → Bordeaux (M6)

"Basically, every transaction needs to be layered with legal intermediaries, so your name wouldn’t appear on any public shareholder registry or financial filings associated with the club or even the SPV before you decide to make it public."

Richard sat back, his mind spinning with all the details. He rubbed his temples, trying to digest everything. After a few moments, he raised his head and turned to Lewis.

"Since you know so much, this isn’t your first time, right? How about another project?"

Lewis smiled, a knowing look in his eyes. To be honest, he’d been circling around the details, keeping the conversation vague to test Richard. Now, it seemed like the moment had arrived to present himself as the one to handle everything.

He coughed lightly. "But you know the fee—"

Richard waved his hand dismissively. "I know, I know. Let’s just get it done."

That’s why he liked working with Richard Maddox.

"Alright, I’ll handle it." He rose. "I’ll start setting up the initial contacts and get the offshore structures in place."

With this, the foundation for the Maddox Football Group was set in place.