Birmingham City takeover: who are Paul Richardson and Maxi Lopez?

Birmingham City’s owners Birmingham Sports Holding Limited (BSHL) are now on the verge of selling the club to a consortium lead by former Argentina player Maxi Lopez and Blues fan Paul Richardson.

Former Watford owner Laurence Bassini was expected to complete a takeover, and had been given a deadline of Friday, July 1 to complete the purchase of the club.

With that deadline now having passed, Lopez and Richardson are now on the brink of completing a deal after confirming on Thursday morning (19 July) that he and Lopez ‘will be’ announced as the club’s new owners in the coming weeks once they have EFL approval.

But who exactly are the two men leading the consortium?

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.

López was married to Argentine model Wanda Nara from 2008 to 2013. The couple have three sons.

The former Barcelona forward is also said to be close friends with fellow countryman Lionel Messi. López was signed by Barcelona while Messi was establishing himself in the first team.

What have fans said about the consortium?

Craig Courtney, a host on the Tilton Talk Show podcast, met Richardson and Lopez on the final day of the Championship season, with both businessmen attending the game against Cardiff.

Craig said: “I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Richardson and Maxi Lopez at the last game of the season, and Paul was really honest and open and he was very approachable.

“There were a lot of people going up to him saying ‘what’s going on’?

“He couldn’t say too much, but he’s a Blues fan and a Brummie and those are some of the things fans have been crying out for, but again we have to wait and see what happens.”

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