Shilen Patel reveals why he couldn't resist buying West Brom majority stake
New Albion chief Shilen Patel admits the romance of football ownership and a desire to succeed was too great to resist buying the club.
The Florida investor, 43, completed his purchase from Guochuan Lai alongside his father Dr Kiran Patel in a £60million deal at the end of last month, ending Lai’s eight-year tenure. Championship club Albion had relied on loans to operate after a lack of investment from Lai and loss of Premier League parachute payments. “There has always been a certain romance to sports ownership,” Patel said in an interview with BBC WM.
“Global football and European football is interesting from a business standpoint, because if you look at the NFL, Major League Baseball, or NHL, the valuation is quite uniformed and eye-wateringly high nowadays.”
“So thinking about it from a place or an accessible opportunity, if you find the right club and right circumstance, but also the opportunity to alter the standing and projection of a club is much greater in football than in American leagues.”
