Melbourne AFL guy must be close to lots of people..... from inside sport...
The long awaited sale of the Newcastle Jets is on the brink of being finalised, with Italian billionaire Danilo Iervolino - owner of Serie A strugglers US Salernitana 1919 - understood to be the mystery buyer.
www.ftbl.com.au
The long awaited sale of the Newcastle Jets is on the brink of being finalised, with Italian billionaire Danilo Iervolino - owner of Serie A strugglers US Salernitana 1919 - understood to be the mystery buyer.
Italaian sources claim Iervolino, 45, is looking to build a portfolio of clubs across various jurisdictions, and it’s believed negotiations to acquire the Jets for a figure thought to be in the vicinity of $10 million are at an advanced stage.
The owners in waiting have already communicated to coach Robbie Stanton their desire to hold onto to core performers such as Phillip Cancar, Lucas Mauragis, Clayton Taylor and Mark Natta, whilst focusing on beefing up the club’s youth development structures.
Iervolino, who sold the online university business he built over 18 years for $US 1 billion, is a longtime student of football, who has already ploughed over $100 million into the club he saved from Serie A expulsion two years ago.
Lazio president Claudio Lotito had to sell Salernitana by midnight on December 31, 2021 as Italian rules preclude two teams in the same division sharing the same owner
In stepped Iervolino with an $18 million rescue package, and he’s been on a mission to make sure the club punches above its weight ever since, in the fashion of fellow Serie A underdogs Atalanta and Cristian Volpato’s Sassuolo.
Salernitana sit three points from safety at the foot of Serie A after 19 games, and recently appointed legendary ex-Italy striker Filippo Inzaghi as their new head coach.
Iervolino has vowed to splash another $32 on reinforcements to make sure they stay up, dwarfing the sum purportedly paid to liberate the Jets from the control of current benefactors Sydney FC, Western United and Western Sydney Wanderers, who have funded the club since January, 2021.
The Jets, according to Iervolino’s master plan, will be the just first offshore investment in up to four clubs to be located outside Italy.