Southampton AFC is one of the household names in English football. Although not one of the biggest, the club has been consistent in the English top flight over the years.
Just like other English teams, the team is also owned privately, and that brings us to the question below.
Who owns Southampton Football Club and net worth?
As of 2024, St Mary’s Football Group Ltd. (100%) are the owners of Southampton Football Club, the English football (soccer) club.
Southampton Football Club ownership structure
The St Mary’s Football Group Ltd. is owned by Sport Republic (80%) and Katharina Liebherr (20%). Sport Republic bought over the club in 2022 and currently has over 80%.
Check this out: Southampton Football Club owner Dragan Solak's net worth and source of wealth
The company bought the 80% stake that was previously owned by Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng. The deal to buy Southampton by Sport Republic was reportedly worth 100 million pounds.
Over the years, Southampton have gone through a series of owners until 2022, when Sport Republic took complete ownership of the team.
What is Sport Republic, the people behind it, and their source of wealth?
Sport Republic was founded by Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft and is financially backed by Dragan Šolak.
Rasmus Ankersen and net worth
Rasmus Ankersen is a Danish public speaker, author, and director of football. He is the co-founder and CEO of the Sport Republic investment group.
He is also the director of football for Southampton Football Club and Turkish soccer club Göztepe.
Before heading the role at Southampton, he was the head of football at Brentford FC.
Rasmus Ankersen's personal net worth is in the region of $4 million dollars.
Henrik Kraft and net worth
The next on the list of the Sport Republic backers is Henrik Kraft. He is from Denmark and one of the co-founders of Sport Republic.
Before leading the role at the company, he was a consultant. Now, he is one of the board of directors at Southampton AFC, Göztepe, and Valenciennes Football Club.
Henrik Kraft's personal net worth is estimated to be in the region of $2 billion dollars due to his investments over the years, including at Sport Republic.
Dragan Šolak and net worth
Perhaps the biggest name on the list of owners of Southampton is Dragan Šolak. The Serbian-born businessman is the main backer of the group.
Dragan Šolak is the founder and majority owner of the alternative telecom provider United Group.
The United Group operates telecommunications, cable television, advertising, and mass media outlets in Southeast Europe.
The brands under the United Group umbrella are SBB, Vivacom, TotalTV, Nova, Aeon TV, Telemach BiH, Telemach Croatia, Telemach Slovenia, Telemach Montenegro, NetTV Plus, and CAS Media Serbia.
An article according to Wikipedia suggests he is one of the richest people in Serbia. His personal net worth is said to be in the region of $2 billion dollars.
Other football clubs, teams, and brands owned by Sport Republic
Apart from Southampton AFC, the company has a list of growing portfolios of teams across the European continent.
1. Göztepe (70%)
As of 2024, Sport Republic has a 70 percent ownership stake in the Turkish football club Göztepe. This was the company's second club after Southampton Football Club.
The company bought the Turkish club, a deal that makes them the first foreign entity to invest in the country's football.
Göztepe is a multisports club that was founded in 1925. Historically, the club achieved success in the early years of football in the country, winning the league title once and the National Cup twice.
2. Valenciennes Valenciennes Football Club
Valenciennes is a French football club that was founded in 1914. Sport Republic is the majority shareholder of the club following its purchases in 2023.
3. Tonsser App
Tonsser App is a youth sports development app that was created to aid in the development of youth. Some of the company's owned teams utilise the app for some of their operations.
4. Sport Buff
Sport Buff is a streaming platform that allows people to watch sports on a different level.
Katharina Liebherr
The next on my list is Katharina Liebherr, who is the minority shareholder of Southampton Food Club. She sold the 80% shares of the club to the Chinese businessman before it was eventually bought over by Sport Republic.
She owns 20% of Southampton; however, her shares have been diluted following a series of investments by Sport Republic.
According to statistics, Katharina Liebherr's net worth is valued in the region of £1 billion pounds.
Southampton Ownership history
Markus Liebherr and Katharina Liebherr (daughter)
Markus Liebherr successfully secured the purchase of Southampton in 2009 for an undisclosed fee.
However, it is believed that the Swiss businessman had paid a fee in the region of £13–15 million.
Katharina Liebherr, his daughter, inherited the club from her father and was in charge of the helm of affairs of the team.
She continued with her father's legacy at the club, bringing capable hands into the organisation and running of the club.
However, she was in charge of the team until eventually selling over 80 percent stake to Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng for GBP210 million.
Gao Jisheng (Lander Sports Investment)
Chinese businessman Gao Jisheng arguably made the biggest investment in the club at the time following the agreement to purchase the club.
He did so with over £210 million to acquire 80 percent shares of the club. His investments were significant and were noticed throughout English football at the time.
He bought the club under the family sports business brand known as the Lander Sports Investment Company based in China.
His time at the club witnessed ups and downs in areas including team performance in the Premier League, even though significant investment was made in players.
However, in January 2022, Gao had different plans for the club, selling his stake to Sport Republic for £100m.
Sport Republic
Sport Republic is the current owner of Southampton AFC.
They own the majority stake of the club and are involved in the organising and management alongside Katharina Liebherr, who has been part of the club for several years.
Where does Southampton Football Club play?
Southampton AFC is one of the most famous teams in English football from the early years of the league in the country until now.
Southampton Football Club plays its home games at the St Mary's Football Stadium in Hampshire, England.
The St Mary's Football Stadium is a seated and standing stadium that has a capacity of 32,384 and is one of the largest stadiums in South East England. The stadium was built at a construction cost of £32 million.
What is Southampton's AFC nickname?
Southampton is one of the most popular teams in English football, without a doubt. The club's nickname is The Saints.
What is Southampton's net worth and market value?
According to figures from Transfermarkt, Southampton Football Club is worth over 280 million euros.
Southampton Football Club Trophies
Southampton AFC isn't one of the biggest teams in English football. However, the club has lifted a couple of trophies since its establishment.
To date, the club's biggest trophy was the FA Cup triumph in 1975–76. The club has also won the EFL Trophy.
Southampton were runners up in Division 1 and the Second Division. In 2024, they won the EFL Championship Playoff final.
When was the club founded?
Southampton is one of the oldest teams in English football. The club was founded in 1885.
About Southampton
Southampton AFC is one of the household names in English football. The Saints were established in 1885.
Southampton may not be your top team in the English Premier League, but they have a strong history when it comes to competing in the league in the days of the First Division and now in the Premier League.
Southampton have won the English FA Cup once again and have emerged runners-up in the First Division.