Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham has acquired a minority stake in cricket team Birmingham Phoenix. Mr Bellingham, from Stourbridge, acquired a 1.2% stake in exchange for around 800,000 shares. Warwickshire County Cricket Club will remain the majority shareholder with 50.4%, while Birmingham City owners Knighthead Capital Management, a group whose minority investor is NFL legend Tom Brady, will control the remaining 48.4%.
I feel like I owe the city.
When Bellingham went public with his involvement with Phoenix, he proudly said: “I feel I owe something to the Phoenix and I think this is a good way to do that.” In an interview with Warwickshire CCC, the player also highlighted his connection to cricket, recalling how he and his brother Jobe used to “fight” as children, and said his favorite hobby outside of football was now watching cricket. “Most everything we did, whether it was Monopoly, football or cricket, ended in fights and tears,” he added.
“For me, Birmingham has always felt like a place where everyone wants everyone to succeed,” he says. “This is a place where I was lucky enough to grow up, where people pushed me to want to be better than me, to be the best. I want to show people, the world, that I come from a great place with great values.”
Playing cricket or football helps you learn to interact with people, understand people from different backgrounds and understand that you can have fun with everyone
Finally, the Real Madrid player reflected on the importance of team sports. “I think what I learned from playing cricket, football or team sports will stay with me for the rest of my life. I learned to interact with people, understand people from different backgrounds and realize that I can have fun with everyone.”
Birmingham Phoenix are the cricket team representing the historic counties of Warwickshire and Worcestershire in a new competition, The Hundred, launched in 2021. Both the men’s and women’s teams play at Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s ground, Edgbaston Cricket Ground, in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham.
Connection with Tom Brady
The Birmingham Phoenix’s global profile has received a major boost following its successful acquisition by Knighthead Capital Management, a US-based investment firm backed by seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
By securing a 48.4% stake in the Hundred franchise, Brady and his business partners are expanding their influence in the city’s sporting landscape, building on their existing ownership in Birmingham City FC.
This high-profile partnership, which also includes England superstar Jude Bellingham as a minority investor, aims to combine American sporting expertise with a passion for local cricket, further strengthening Birmingham’s position as a leading destination for international sports investment.
