Aston Villa would love to get celebrity supporter Tom Hanks onboard as a co-investor, a leading finance expert has suggested.
Hollywood superstar Hanks is a Villa fan and attended their final home game of the season on Monday, witnessing a late Villa comeback as they drew 3-3 against Liverpool.
Ahead of the game, the Cast Away and Saving Private Ryan actor made a cameo in a video posted on Villa’s Twitter account, saying: “Good news on the horizon, lets hope so. Up the Villa! Forever Villa.”
Celebrity investors are all the rage in football at present.
Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham project is the most high-profile case, while Will Ferrell recently acquired a small stake in Leeds United and LeBron James has become more involved with Liverpool.
Now, finance expert Kieran Maguire has claimed Villa would like to add their name to that growing list.
Villa want to copy Birmingham’s Tom Brady move
Across the city, Villa’s arch-rivals Birmingham City have taken on a minority investment from NFL superstar Tom Brady.
The 46-year-old former quarterback got involved with the now-relegated side as part of Knighthead Capital Management’s takeover last August.
Speaking on his Price of Football podcast, Liverpool University football finance lecturer Maguire suggested Villa would be eager to follow a similar approach, leveraging Hanks’ global appeal to their strategic advantage
“In terms of Tom Hanks, I think in an ideal world Villa would like to ‘Tom Brady’ him in the sense that he becomes a co-owner, he effectively puts no money into the club and they use brand Hanks,” he said.
“Every time I’ve head him on Kermode and Mayo and in every film I’ve watched him in, I’ve always thought he’s absolutely brilliant.
“Although, could it be said, if they are looking for a new demographic, would he appeal to a younger audience?”
Celebrity investors: Passing fad or the future of football?
Villa boast a number of famous fans. Prince William and David Cameron are among those who proffess to support the club.
But the new trend of football clubs actively courting this interest and converting it into investment is another thing entirely.
For the celebrities, they are unlikely to see much of a return on their investment.
Generally, they only become minority investors and are effectively used as poster boys for, say, a private equity firm who have bought their endorsement.
These stars rarely have any material influence at the club – and that is just as well given their lack of expertise in a field where even the most experienced operators often fail catastrophically.
For the clubs, they get to capitalise on the worldwide appeal of these figures, potentially reaching new markets and boosting their commercial appeal.
In Villa’s case, an investment from Hanks alongside Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris would see their popularity boom in the United States, a market that the club is focusing their firepower on at present.
Villa will play three pre-season games in the US ahead of 2024-25 and their recent badge rebrand and partnership with Adidas will make them more palatable for an American audience.
With the club set to announce record revenue thanks to their participation in the Champions League next season, they may believe that now is the time to further push ahead in that lucrative market.