American Celebrities Continue To Invest In EFL Sides As Rihanna’s Rapper Boyfriend A$AP Rocky Gets Set To Buy League Two Minnows For £15 Million

The number of American-owned EFL clubs is on the rise and another huge celebrity pairing could be about to join the club. That’s according to the latest A$AP Rocky news.

League Two side Tranmere Rovers are firmly in the rapper’s sights. Most will know him as the boyfriend of singer Rihanna. The Umbrella star could potentially be strutting her stuff at Prenton Park. Just imagine.

At the time of publication, a bid in the region of £15 million is being touted. A$AP Rocky will form part of an investment group headed up by celebrity lawyer Joe Tacopina.

American-Owned EFL Clubs Continue To Increase

The Wrexham Dream

A certain Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are credited with starting the ‘American Dream’ when they bought then National League side Wrexham in 2020.

Hollywood star Reynolds is actually Canadian but gained US citizenship in 2018. The Deadpool actor has overseen back-to-back promotions alongside friend and business partner McElhenney since taking ownership.

Most notably, the duo helped launch a Disney+ documentary titled Welcome To Wrexham. The series is in one respect a fly-on-the-wall overview of how they hope to learn to run a football club.

Furthermore, the idea is to get the whole world rooting for an underdog success story which helps the Red Dragons climb into the Premier League and potentially European football.

NFL Influence

NFL hero Tom Brady is a minority investor in League One side Birmingham City. The 7-time Superbowl winner is the chairman of the Advisory Board at St. Andrews. He is also tasked with drumming up interest in the club stateside.

That will include seeking out new global sponsorship opportunities that can be used to the Blues advantage. His knowledge, power and influence will likely prove hugely beneficial.

Subsequently, the 2011 League Cup winners will hope that Brady can help oversee a return to England’s elite division. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Blues and Wrexham make the leap at the same time.

Recently-relegated Burnley are another who can boast financial backing from a former NFL star. J.J. Watt and his wife Kealia are minority shareholders of the EFL Championship side.

Kealia’s main focus and attention lean towards the Clarets’ women’s team. The idea is to make them a strong force to be reckoned with. After all, she did play the game for Houston Dash across the pond.

J.J. is similar to Reynolds in a sense. He also needed something of a crash course in football. That includes the day-to-day running of a club, posting on social media, understanding VAR and, erm, pouring pints.

News you didn't expect to hear today 😅

The Hollywood investment in the EFL continues as A$AP Rocky is set to buy into Tranmere Rovers, according to reports pic.twitter.com/YDIOiwg76K

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 21, 2024

Current American-Owned EFL Clubs

Below, we have highlighted all of the 2024/25 EFL clubs who have a form of American ownership or investment of sorts behind them. The latest A$AP Rocky news suggests he will soon be included.

Championship

• Burnley – Alan Pace, J.J. and Kealia Watt (ALK Capital)
• Leeds – York Family (San Francisco 49ers, DeBartolo Corporation (49ers Enterprise)
• Millwall – John Berylson and Richard Smith (Millwall Holdings)
• Norwich – Mark Attanasio (Mark Attanasio, Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones)
• Plymouth – Simon Hallet (Simon Hallett)
• Portsmouth – Michael Eisner (Michael Eisner)
• Swansea – Stephen Kaplan and Jason Levien (Swansea City Football 2002 Ltd.)
• West Brom – Shilen Patel and Kiran C. Pital (Bilkul Football WBA)

League One

• Barnsley – Chien Lee (BFC Investment Company Ltd)
• Birmingham – Tom Wagner, Tom Brady (Birmingham Sports Holding, Shelby Companies Ltd)
• Cambridge – Adam Webb and Mark Green (Paul Barry, Adam Webb and Mark Green)
• Charlton – Joshua Friedman (Global Football Partners)
• Crawley – WAGMI United LLC (WAGMI United)
• Huddersfield – Kevin M. Nagle (Kevin M. Nagle)
• Lincoln – Harvey Jabara, WMA Sports Ventures and Liquid Investments (Exeter City Supporters’ Trust)
• Wrexham – Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney (Wrexham Holdings LLC)

League Two

• Carlisle United – The Piatek Family (Carlisle Sports Group)
• Gillingham – Brad Galinson (Brad Gallinson)
• Walsall – Benjamin Boycott (Benjamin Boycott & Leigh Pomlett)

A$AP Rocky News Suggests Tranmere Rovers Bid Is Imminent

According to the latest A$AP Rocky news, the American rapper is part of a consortium that is preparing a £15 million bid to buy League Two side Tranmere Rovers.

If successful, the 36-year-old star will reportedly attend home games. Most likely with celebrity partner and global superstar Rihanna by his side.

Donald Trump’s former lawyer Joe Tacopina is heading up the investment group that will produce the bid for the Birkenhead-based side. However, the EFL will need to decide if it fits into their parameters.

A source close to the pair explained: “Rocky is tight with Joe and has committed to the Tranmere bid. Joe has been to Tranmere matches and Rocky has plans to go over too after the deal is completed.

“We may even see Rihanna watching League Two football.”

Similar to Birmingham and Wrexham, A$AP Rocky will use his celebrity influence to help draw interest in Tranmere from across the pond. And Rihanna’s presence will certainly help.

It’ll likely mirror Ryan Reynolds’ wife Blake Lively’s support for the actor as well as Wrexham. Being based so close to Liverpool, Joe and A$AP Rocky can potentially pull off a sporting and marketing masterclass.