Apollo to acquire majority stake in Atlético Madrid football club
Deal for Spanish team is private capital group’s first major sports acquisition since forming a $5bn investment vehicle
Apollo Global Management has agreed to buy a majority stake in Atlético Madrid, in a deal that values Spain’s third largest football club at more than €2bn and marks the US group’s first major investment in football.
The deal values Atlético at €2.5bn including debt, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, although another person put the figure at just higher than €2bn. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Apollo is acquiring the stake in Atlético — one of the largest investments into European sport by a private capital company — through its new $5bn sports investment vehicle, Apollo Sports Capital.
The New York-based group, which manages more than $800bn of assets, has been accelerating its push into sports, with investments ranging from Premier League football clubs in the UK to horseracing ventures.
Atlético has established itself as the strongest challenger to dominant Spanish rivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. It has qualified for Europe’s lucrative club competition, the Champions League, for 12 years running and reached the final twice in that period.
The club’s revenues were €410mn in the 2024 financial year, up 12 per cent year on year, according to Deloitte. Its sponsors include Saudi airline Riyadh Air, US sportswear company Nike, the Visit Rwanda tourism organisation, and crypto trading platform Kraken.
Atlético’s existing shareholders — chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, chair Enrique Cerezo, Ares Management and Quantum Pacific Group — are selling down part of their stakes but will remain invested in the club.
Atlético said on Monday that its shareholders intend to invest additional capital to support its long-term plans, and that Gil and Cerezo will continue in their respective positions.
Apollo is one of a number of private capital firms aggressively pushing into European sports.
Clearlake Capital acquired English Premier League club Chelsea for £2.5bn in 2022, while RedBird Capital took over Italian side AC Milan in a €1.2bn deal the same year. Last year, Oaktree Capital seized Inter Milan when its Chinese owners failed to repay debt.
The Atlético deal is set to crystallise a healthy return for Ares, which acquired a 34 per cent stake in the club for €182mn in 2021.
The talks with Apollo emerged out of Atlético’s hunt for investors to back the Ciudad del Deporte, a sports and entertainment district next to its stadium. In talks that were originally limited to Apollo helping to finance the €800mn project, the US firm raised the alternative idea of it purchasing a stake in the club.
Robert Givone, Apollo partner and co-portfolio manager of its new sports vehicle, highlighted the opportunity of the Ciudad del Deporte project as part of its rationale for the deal.
“Supporting the ambitious plans for the sports city can create significant value for both the club and the local economy,” he said. The deal is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026.