Five athletes that own football clubs as Holdsworth takes over Bolton

Robbie Purves | February 22, 2016

Dean Holdsworth and his Sports Shield group have completied the takeover of cash-strapped Bolton Wanderers.

Championship side Bolton are £173m in debt and sit rock bottom of the league.

The club’s accounts were frozen when HM Revenue and Customs served them with a winding up petition over £2.25m of unpaid tax, and their very future was in doubt and there was a real risk the club would go out of business.

Sports Shield Investment’s deal, lead by former Bolton striker Holdsworth, is thought to be under the £20m owner Eddie Davies had been asking for, but has been accepted. It is also believed that Bolton native and boxer Amir Khan is part of the consortium.

Holdsworth spent six seasons at Bolton, scoring 52 goals in 188 appearances.

With the deal likely completed, we take a look at other athletes that have become football team owners…

Dave Whelan – Wigan Athletic

Whelan played for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra and ‘famously’ missed out on playing in Blackburn’s 1960 FA Cup final after breaking his leg.

After his football career, he turned his attention to business and became a multimillionaire. Whelan, now worth £150m, made his money in sports equipment and sold his family stake in JJB for £190m in 2007.