Becomes Hertha the number 7 in 777?
US entrepreneur Joshua Wander (41) announced that his company 777 would buy Lars Windhorst’s (46) 64.7 percent stake in Hertha. 777 is already involved in six clubs worldwide. BILD explains how it works there:
► FC Seville (Spain): Seville was the first involvement in football in 2018. 777 holds 15 percent, so only a minority of the shares, the influence on the club is small. Sevilla won the Europa League in 2020 and are currently fighting relegation.
► FC Genoa (Italy): 777 took over the oldest club in Italy in 2021 for 175 million dollars (around 169 million euros), including ex-star Andriy Shevchenko (46) as a coach. Nevertheless, the descent followed. Genoa is currently third in Serie B.
Exciting: With Johannes Spors (40), a German (formerly chief scout at Hoffenheim, HSV and Leipzig) was appointed Genoa managing director in 2021. As Global Sports Director at 777, he has been responsible for all clubs since the summer.
► CR Vasco da Gama (Brazil): In the spring, 777 took over 70 percent of the indebted traditional club from Rio de Janeiro for $137 million (€132 million), possibly saving it from ruin. However, the second division missed out on promotion and is currently 3rd.
► Standard Liege (Belgium): In the summer, 777 bought Liege for €40m. Football journalist and Liège expert Thomas Standaert from the Belgian newspaper Het belang van Limburg explains: “The big narrative was to bring the club back to where it belongs. To do this, 777 recruited staff from the region or from the club itself.”
That was well received by the fans. Standaert: “The owners take care of keeping the fans happy.” With sports director Fergal Harkin (45), 777 also brought in an employee from the Manchester City cosmos, from which Don Dransfield, football boss of 777, also comes . Liège is 7th in the Belgian league.
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► Red Star Paris (France): The supporters of the third division are less fond of the new owner 777. In protest against the takeover for 10 million euros, the fans even set the pitch on fire with Bengalos thrown during a game in April, and the game had to be stopped. Red Star is currently 5.
► Melbourne Victory (Australia): Only in October did 777 take a minority stake in Melbourne. However, the airline “Bonza” also belongs to 777 as the new main sponsor. Victory is table 7.
Conclusion: 777 has a large football network and experience in dealing with traditional clubs. It will be exciting to see how much influence 777 wants to gain at Hertha despite the 50+1 rule.