Evangelos Marinakis, who owns Rio Ave in Portugal, Olympiacos in Greece, and Nottingham Forest in England, is looking to add a fourth club to his portfolio.
The Greek businessman is managing this portfolio as cleanly as he can, with his clubs – still considered minnows to a large extent – doing very well in their various leagues. Nottingham Forest is currently in the top four of the Premier League and fighting to return to the UEFA Champions League, where they were a staple in the 1960s and 1970s. Olympiakos are still Greek football royalty and Rio Ave are fighting to make the top seven in Portugal which will see them participate in European football next season.
This has made him very attractive to many clubs, one of which was Everton, who he was rumoured to be in the running to acquire. However, he looks set to acquire Vasco Da Gama from Brazil, according to reports.
The Brazilian club is owned by 777 Partners, one of the parties that was also involved in the acquisition of Everton saga. Marinakis and the investment company have started preliminary talks, with reports claiming that the first phase of discussions will be wrapped up in a matter of days.
Former Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar is set to join Marinakis’ team in a global role that will see him oversee some of the operations of the four clubs under the Greek businessman. His role is still undefined but it is believed he will perform in a similar capacity to what he performed at Arsenal.
As the biggest club in Marinakis’ portfolio, Gaspar will be paying special attention to Nottingham Forest. Marinakis has not spared any expense in trying to get them to compete, bringing in Taiwo Awoniyi, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga, James Ward-Prowse, Chris Wood and many others.
Gaspar will ensure that the Tricky Trees are able to get more players to strengthen their squad in order to challenge for titles once again in England. He will surely learn from the club’s missed opportunity to sign Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid legend Gareth Bale back in 2013.
Kyle Walker told the story of how his former teammate almost ended up at Forest but instead found his way to Real Madrid.
“You had Gareth Bale and Danny Rose playing at left-back. I can remember coming back from a loan at Sheffield United, I signed and went directly on loan and then Harry called me back,” Walker said on the Danny Rose and The Full Back Reunion podcast.
“I went back and we were on the top pitch and Gareth were there and he was saying I am going to Nottingham Forest. All of a sudden, Benoit got injured and Gareth went and did what he did. It’s all about luck, you need quality.”
