from Cedric “BIG CED” Thornton
12 August 2024
The “Take Care” rapper helped the team avoid bankruptcy.
Canadian superstar Drake is credited with helping an Italian soccer club stay in business despite it being on the verge of bankruptcy.
Accordingly GQ Italythe football team Venezia FC was struggling financially and needed cash to keep the club afloat. Drake came and saved the situation as he helped raise the necessary capital to prevent the team from filing for bankruptcy. Before the start of the 2023–24 season, team expenses and several moves caused panic among the team. The football club was in debt and took several steps to reduce the debt, including selling the contracts of various players and trying to raise money from new investors. Although Venezia FC did well on the field, they did well in the league table, but not financially.
But one phone call changed the direction of the club. The call came from Matte Babel, a member of Drake’s management team and the entertainer’s Chief Brand Officer.
“I got a call from Brad (Brad Katsuyama, star of Michael Lewis’ Flash Boys, “I spoke to Drake (Editor’s note), co-owner of Venezia and a good friend of mine. He explained the problem to me very simply: Venezia needs to raise ten million euros in a few weeks and then at least thirty million euros in a few months, otherwise the club will go bankrupt. Venice is an incredible city and Venezia has always been a special club. I spoke to Drake, then Brad and I discussed the details of how we could help. Within two weeks we reached an agreement, raised the money needed to pay salaries and avoid bankruptcy.”
That off-field luck carried over into their on-field ambitions as Venezia FC won the playoffs against Cremonese. The ownership group was able to raise over $40 million in capital from a group of North American investors, reportedly thanks in large part to Drake and his team. That group has now formed an operating committee to oversee the direction of the club and transform Venezia into a world-class team.
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