Inter Miami co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas invest in Spanish club Real Zaragoza
Inter Miami co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas spread their soccer footprint by becoming part of an investment group that on Friday acquired more than 51 percent of Spanish second division club Real Zaragoza.
The club announced the acquisition on its website.
The group is made up of various investors, including the Mas brothers, Joseph Oughourlian, Gustavo Serpa, Jim Carpenter and Jim Miller. The agreement is subject to two conditions: the permanence of Real Zaragoza in LaLiga SmartBank this season and the authorization of the operation by the Higher Sports Council.
The new shareholder group has experience in management of clubs worldwide, including Inter Miami, Racing Club de Lens (France) and Millonarios FC (Colombia).
The management will be headed by Raúl Sanllehí, who has more than 25 years of experience at FC Barcelona, Arsenal FC and in international football organizations such as ECA, UEFA and FIFA.
According to the club’s website: “The project will be marked by the desire to provide the club with a team with the ability to compete with the best, create infrastructure to improve services to fans, as well as create synergies between the different clubs owned by investors that promote sports development , financial, commercial and brand.”
Jorge Mas told the Herald in late-February about his plans to invest in Zaragoza and explained why.
“We’re always looking at opportunities to expand the Inter Miami footprint in terms of player development,” Mas said. “Everything that has motivated David and I to look at potential partnerships or investments with clubs overseas has always been how we can better the Inter Miami roster. This is our flagship in Miami. Having relationships and ownership in different clubs gives you platforms for youth. What an amazing experience for maybe some of our academy players to go through a hopefully La Liga team and vice versa.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 11:04 AM.