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Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp leads a consortium of soccer superstars with the aim of buying an English club.
The former Gunners ace has joined forces with Derby manager Phillip Cocu, former Liverpool favorite Dirk Kuyt, current Dutch coach Ronald Koeman and former Celtic hero Henrik Larsson in an attempt to enter the market.
And, with England’s clubs – facing a devastating financial collapse if the plan to restart the season after the failure of the shutdown, the belief is that many clubs will be up for grabs in the months ahead.
Dutch super agent Rob Jansen, executive of global marketing giants Wasserman Media Group, is the business brain behind the project.
Wasserman is the second largest sports agency in the world, with an estimated value of £ 3.2 billion.
(Image: Hollandse Hoogte / Shutterstock)
Jansen revealed: “We are in the waiting room, as we call it. In this crisis, the sale price of some clubs will decrease.
“At the same time, the internal struggles in these clubs will get bigger.”
The group failed with an offer to buy a club last year.
Jansen added: “We were very close to a deal recently. I’m not going to say what club that was now, but at the last moment we were hit by a foreign investor.
“That was very disappointing.”
Jansen, 64, has been a powerful presence in the game for over 25 years.
He represented all of his business partners when they were at the height of their fame.
All six men have experience working within the English game and are ready to spend their own money to make their dream come true.
Bergkamp, 50, is considered one of the Premier League’s best players after an 11-year season at Arsenal that saw him win the Premier League three times and lift the FA Cup four times.
A statue outside the Emirates pays tribute to the Dutchman’s service to gunners.
(Image: Getty Images)
But Bergkamp has not been involved in soccer since he left coaching training in Ajax in December 2017 after clashing with executives and former teammates Edwin van der Sar and Marc Overmars.
He is currently helping out at his daughter’s hockey club.
But he is eager for the opportunity to return to the game that he honored with such distinction.
Berkamp would want a practical role in any potential club.
He is considering a position that allows him to oversee the entire setup, with an emphasis on developing a path for young players from the academy to the senior team.
Bergkamp’s business partners also come from an excellent soccer team.
Kuyt, 39, was a firm favorite for six years at Anfield and has been working in the Feyenoord youth system since he retired.
And Larsson, 48, is the boss of Helsingborgs after a playing career that included spells at Manchester United, Celtic and Barcelona.
Former Southampton and Everton boss Koeman also played for Barça.
Like Cocu, who became Derby’s manager last summer and guided PSV Eindhoven to its first Dutch title in seven years in 2015.
The move could not be better, as Newcastle is on the verge of a £ 300m acquisition backed by the Saudi Arabian government.
But EFL and Premier League clubs face millions of losses if the proposed restart has to be stopped.
Those losses could open the door to new investors like those advised by Jansen.
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