Birmingham City: Paul Richardson and Maxi Lopez close in on club takeover

After months of fan unrest, Birmingham’s owners Birmingham Sports Holdings Ltd are on the verge of selling the club
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Birmingham City are on the brink of being taken over by a consortium led by the former Argentina striker Maxi Lopez and local businessman Paul Richardson.

Richardson has been at St Andrew’s this morning (19 July), and he confirmed to the media that contracts over a deal were exchanged over the weekend and a deposit was paid yesterday. TalkSPORT is also reporting that the deal is done, meaning controversial businessman Laurence Bassini will no longer be taking control of the Championship club.

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The consortium led by Lopez and Richardson will still have to wait for EFL approval before the deal goes through. Speaking to Sky Sports this morning, Richardson revealed that he and Lopez ‘will be’ announced as the club’s new owners in one or two weeks. See the interview in the clip below.

A general view of St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)A general view of St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
A general view of St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Who are Lopez and Richardson?

Paul Richardson is a businessman. He is the owner of the Hera Clothing brand, and an ex-director of Gymshark. He’s also a big Blues supporter. The consortium is also believed to include Argentine businessman Christian Codoma. He is the owner of Maxco Capital in London and runs Global Stars Management in Hong Kong - and this is how Lopez is connected.

Maxi Lopez is of course a well known ex-Argentine international who played for the likes of Barcelona, AC Milan and Sampdoria. Lopez made 475 appearances throughout his career, although he never represented his national team at senior level. After an impressive career, playing for some of Europe’s top clubs, Lopez ventured into the business world, and partnered with Codoma on Maxco Capital.

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