From the Turf to the Boardroom: M&A in Portuguese Football

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are playing an increasingly central role in the growth and internationalisation strategy of Portuguese football clubs. The growing interest in Portuguese football clubs on the part of investors, both domestic and foreign, is boosted by the recognition of Portuguese clubs and the international projection of their players.

In this context, more and more investors from the four corners of the globe have been identifying the Portuguese market as an investment opportunity with great potential for appreciation in the medium and long term, for a number of reasons:

• Attractive Cost-Benefit: When compared to other top European leagues, the Portuguese league has a generally lower investment cost.
• Valuing Talent: Portugal is recognised worldwide as a powerhouse for developing football talent, which attracts investors interested in developing teams and junior teams.
• European and World Exposure: Portuguese clubs regularly take part in European competitions such as the Champions League and Europa League, or more recently in the Club World Cup, which saw the participation of Futebol Clube do Porto and Sport Lisboa e Benfica, giving them great international visibility. In addition, more and more Portuguese players are playing in foreign leagues through high value transfers. Of the five highest-value transfers in 2024[1], two involved Portuguese players Gonçalo Ramos and João Neves, who moved from Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain.

Potential investors in football clubs should be aware of the Legal Framework for Sports Companies (Law no. 39/2023, of 4 August), which defines the admissible corporate forms of sports companies, sets limits on shareholdings, namely a minimum limit on the shareholding of the founding club, and imposes transparency and suitability requirements on investors. In addition to this legislation, there are the regulatory requirements of the Portuguese Football Federation and FIFA, particularly with regard to prior approval requirements for relevant changes to the shareholder structure for the purposes of sports licensing, as well as restrictions on third-party influence on clubs and players' economic rights (known as Third-Party Influence and Third-Party Ownership).

In terms of investment models and structures, the main trends seem to be the entry of private equity funds specialising in sports into the Sociedades Anónimas Desportivas ("SADs"), the adoption of multi-club ownership models, in which the same investor holds stakes in several clubs, often in different countries, and the option for operations structured as asset deals rather than share deals, allowing strategic assets to be acquired - such as brands, training centres or players' economic rights - rather than stakes in the SADs.

In particular, the multi-club ownership system, which allows for the optimisation of resources, the sharing of technical knowledge and the facilitation of player transfers between clubs, has been growing in our country - at the end of 2024, a total of 15 Portuguese football clubs operated according to this model[2].

The year 2025 has already seen several major takeovers in the world of Portuguese football, such as the acquisition of a majority stake in Amora Futebol Clube - Futebol, SAD by the Brazilian investment fund Orla[3], the investment of the player Vinícius Júnior in FC Alverca Futebol SAD, the acquisition by Spain's Elite Management and Administration Group of a majority stake in Tondela's SAD or the acquisition of Associação Desportiva Sanjoanense - Futebol SAD by AMCNO - Proyectos Y Inversiones, from Colombia[4].

The outlook for the future will be one of continued growth in these M&A operations, driven by international appetite and the need for clubs to strengthen their competitiveness, both in terms of sport and management. The Portuguese Professional Football Yearbook, produced by EY and Liga Portugal, notes that in the 2023/2024 season, "Liga Portugal recorded its 9th year of positive results and Sociedades Desportivas reached 1,073 million euros in revenue, surpassing the one billion mark for the first time"[5].

The expectation is that the volume of revenue in Portuguese football will continue to increase in the coming years, which will attract more potential investors and business opportunities. M&A operations are far from just a financial exercise, they are a complex "game" where strict laws and regulations, sophisticated business strategies and the unique emotional component that sport provides intersect in order to win on and off the pitch.

[1] Global-Transfer-Report-2024.pdf

[2] Investing in Portuguese football: a prime spot for Multi-Club Ownership? - Football Benchmark

[3] Brazilian fund buys Portuguese football club | Negócios | pipelinevalor

[4] M&A transactions in Portugal in Q1 2025 - Omnium

[5] Sports Company Revenues Surpass €1bn for the First Time in a Record Year for Employment and Fans at the Stadium | Portugal