Even billionaires need help: The allure of sovereign wealth as top sports teams seek new heights

The financial Wild West of European football shows how private equity could ultimately shape the future of US sports - if financial controls are loosened

It sounds bizarre, but the billionaires are going to need some help.

Recent years have seen eye-watering money pour into sport. In North America the rising valuations of sports teams have seen investors put billions on the line in expectation that those valuations will keep on climbing, buoyed by bigger media deals and a more globalised audience.

European football has started to see that influx of capital, too. While the kind of cost controls that exist in US sport don’t apply to the likes of the Premier League - where promotion and relegation exists, there is no salary cap and the existence of the transfer market creates a kind of financial Wild West - valuations for the biggest teams have been rising exponentially.

One of the most obvious examples of that is comparing the price paid for Liverpool by Fenway Sports Group back in October 2010 and the value it holds today, as well as potentially in the future.