A 'Who’s Who' of NZ football stars has missed out on uniting with one of the biggest clubs in the world to launch a second A-League franchise in New Zealand, based at Auckland.
The A-League has confirmed American billionaire Bill Foley, who owns English Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, as its preferred bidder to establish the new Auckland expansion team.
Newshub can reveal that a group - led by American entrepreneur and NZ Breakers minority owner Marc Mitchell, and former ASB Classic tournament director Karl Budge, who recently stepped down as SailGP APAC commercial director - was to also include several current and former international NZ football luminaries.
Among them 2010 All Whites World Cup skipper Ryan Nelsen, recently retired captain Winston Reid and Football Ferns captain Ali Riley. Former All Whites and Wellington Phoenix midfielder turned AllBirds founder Tim Brown was also understood to be involved.
With further financial assistance required, Newshub understands the contingent was weighing up offers from two European giants - Italian heavyweights AC Milan and French icons Paris Saint Germain.
AC Milan is 99.93 percent owned by RedBird Capital Partners - an ownership group that also includes Yankee Global Enterprise, parent company of Major League Baseball club New York Yankees. Among their celebrity investors are NBA superstar LeBron James and rapper Drake.
Their overarching ownership group, who are the likely investors into Auckland, includes other minority owners.
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, acquired a majority stake of PSG in 2011 and obtained sole ownership through Qatar Sports Investments, a year later.
PSG has spent more than $2.2 billion since QSI took over and has the fifth-highest revenue in the footballing world.
Given AC Milan's larger portfolio, relationships, notoriety and cleaner history than Qatar around human rights, they were thought to be the favoured partner for Budge and Mitchell's group.
Foley is the managing general partner of Black Knight Football and Entertainment, a partnership that bought Bournemouth late last year. The group also has a 33 percent stake in French Ligue 1 club FC Lorient and has outlined plans to add to its portfolio of clubs.
Foley is the founder and majority owner of Las Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team - the current Stanley Cup holders - and has business interests in New Zealand, including Foley Wines Ltd, a public company listed on the NZ stock exchange, consisting of five wineries in Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago.
He reportedly donated to former US President Donald Trump during his 2016 and 2020 election campaigns.
"My family and I have a genuine appreciation and love for New Zealand," said Foley. "We will look to strengthen this connection even further by acquiring an A-Leagues expansion licence in Auckland, which will allow us to establish both a men’s and women’s club in the city.
"Our goal will be to build a winning organisation, while simultaneously serving the community and growing the sport - and passion for the sport - at all levels. We are extremely excited to reach this stage in the process and look forward to the next steps."
Both consortiums are understood to have met the $25 million buy-in fee required by the A-League for the expansion.
Former All Black Ali Williams was rumoured to combine with the Mowbray family, who founded the Zuru toys brand, to make a bid, although that initiative has since fallen by the wayside.
In March, the A-League announced it would expand in the 2024/25 season, with the addition of teams at Auckland and Canberra.
