by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
August 12, 2024
The ‘Take Care’ rapper helped the team avoid bankruptcy.
Canadian superstar Drake has been credited with helping an Italian soccer club stay in business after staring in the face of bankruptcy.
According to GQ Italia, the soccer team, Venezia FC, was having financial issues and needed cash to keep the club afloat. Drake came in and saved the day when he became involved in raising the capital necessary to keep the team from filing for bankruptcy. Before the start of the 2023-24 season, team expenses and several moves caused panic for the team. The soccer club was in debt, and they made several moves to bring the debt down, including selling the contracts of various players while trying to raise money from new investors. Although on the field, Venezia FC was doing well in the standings, but not financially.
But one phone call changed the trajectory of the club. A member of Drake’s management, Matte Babel, who is also the entertainer’s Chief Brand Officer, received that call.
“I got a call from Brad (Brad Katsuyama, star of Michael Lewis’ Flash Boys, ed.), co-owner of Venezia and a good friend of mine. He explained the problem to me in a simple way: Venezia must raise ten million euros in a couple of weeks and then at least thirty million euros in a few months, or the club will go bankrupt. Venice is an incredible city, and Venezia has always been a special club. I talked to Drake, then Brad and I discussed the details of how we could help. Within two weeks we found an agreement, collected the money necessary to pay salaries and avoid bankruptcy.”
That luck off the field transferred to their on-field aspirations as Venezia FC won the playoffs against Cremonese. The ownership group was able to raise over $40 million in capital from a group of North American investors, allegedly thanks in large part to Drake and his team. That group has now formed an Operating Committee to oversee the direction of the club, intending to transform Venezia into a world-class team.
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