Thomas Zilliacus, accused of fraud in NYC, wanted by Singaporean police, made public bids for Manchester United and Inter Milan. Despite being worth millions, not billions, he aspired to own major football clubs. Zilliacus faced scrutiny by authorities and had to surrender his passport. His bid for Inter is claimed to be genuine.
We have profiled four men who tried — and failed — to buy football clubs, but we could have picked plenty more. So what does this seemingly bottomless pit of candidates say about the English game? It shouldn't be this easy, writes @mjshrimper.
“He sends an email to a football club saying he wants to buy that club. Then he launches this social media blitz. ‘I’m buying the club, I’ve got a deal, can’t say anything more than that’." The story of William Storey and his failed bids for Sunderland, Coventry City & Reading.
Two weeks ago, Italian police raided the offices of AC Milan to investigate claims that Elliott’s €1.2bn sale of the club in 2022 never really happened. So what’s going on? Team FT tries to make sense of it all. https://t.co/PSnb2r47AU
“The club is shrouded in uncertainty - you’re waiting for the next story to break. You try to not let it impact but it’s almost impossible.” Thanks to the excellent @GiuliaBould, @John_B58 & @UHTPodcast for their thoughts on Everton’s malaise +what next https://t.co/4rcWpc5kmM
🎙️ If you like docs about heists & scams, here’s me, @AdamCrafton_ & @AyoAkinwo talking about Chris Kirchner, Dozy Mmobuosi, William Storey, Thomas Zilliacus & other gents who nearly bought football clubs, why they tried & what that says about football. https://t.co/rDV2KJ8uct
Part 4 of our “colourful characters” series is about Thomas Ziliacus, the Finnish entrepreneur who tried to organise a whip-round to buy Man Utd & is still trying to buy Inter. Unfortunately, he’s also wanted by Interpol. @AdamCrafton_ explains https://t.co/yK09Ce5iwM
Forgot to mention in tweet that Zilliacus also was instructed to hand in his passport by police as authorities scrutinised a company he co-founded. A third party had to pay a $100k bond to get passport back. He says his bid for Inter was/is very real…https://t.co/1L53S0M1ct https://t.co/kjXr5JNWRc
The latest remarkable piece from @AdamCrafton_ on the only guy who has publicly declared interest in buying #Inter from Suning/Zhang. https://t.co/hWRfsVaPCm
❌ "Mobile phone guru" ❌ "Billionaire" ❌ Manchester United owner ❌ Inter owner Thomas Zilliacus came from nowhere to bid for #MUFC and Inter. He is worth millions, not billions, so why does he want to run one of Europe's biggest football clubs? 📝 @AdamCrafton_
“Mobile phone guru” “Billionaire” Thomas Zilliacus is neither of these things but made public bids for #MUFC and Inter. He’s also a wanted man in Singapore (though says he’s done nothing wrong). So why try to buy a football club? @AdamCrafton_ https://t.co/KjULXM2cot
Thomas Zilliacus came from nowhere to front very public bids for #MUFC and Inter. He is wanted by police in Singapore and has been accused of federal securities fraud in New York — claims he strongly contests. But why would he want to own a football club? @AdamCrafton_
Special report: Thomas Zilliacus claims he bid for Manchester United and Inter Milan - but @TheAthleticFC can reveal he was accused of fraud in an NYC civil lawsuit (he settled out-of-court) and he remains wanted by Singaporean police. Quite the ride. https://t.co/1L53S0M1ct