Ryan Bertrand Fronts £87 Million Investment Bid for AFC Wimbledon
Former England international Ryan Bertrand is the public face of a prospective investment group aiming to inject significant capital into the fan-owned football club.
Former Chelsea and England player Ryan Bertrand has emerged as the central figure of an investment group proposing to acquire a stake in AFC Wimbledon, with plans to invest £87 million over five seasons.
The League One club announced last week that they had identified a preferred investor to help raise new capital, acknowledging that their current ownership structure is "not sustainable." AFC Wimbledon, founded in 2002, has ascended from the ninth tier of English football but narrowly avoided relegation from the third tier last season. The club reported an operating loss of £600,000 a year ago and projected that finances would "become very tight."
Bertrand, 37, is the football advisor for the investment group, Sloane Street Capital (SSC), which is backed by British tech entrepreneur Omar Mir. SSC aims to oversee football operations at the club. Their proposal includes an initial £16 million for a 34% share in AFCW PLC, coupled with a commitment of £71 million in future investment. Crucially, the plan is designed to allow fan ownership and control to continue by ensuring the investors never gain majority voting control.
"Wimbledon is a club with real football heritage," Bertrand told Daily Mail Sport. "There's the story of what happened before but what's happened since is truly unrivalled. This is not 'The Ryan Bertrand Show'. It's about more ideas and empowering the club by partnering with the fans."
Bertrand retired from professional football in 2024. He has since been involved in player representation and talent identification. Sources close to the former left-back suggest that players he has identified for various clubs now hold a combined market valuation of £332 million. A Champions League winner with Chelsea, Bertrand has previously expressed an interest in football club ownership, having held talks regarding a potential acquisition of Charlton Athletic. He recently completed a course at Harvard University on the Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports.
Under SSC's proposal, £8 million of the initial £16 million investment would be allocated to football operations and infrastructure. Bertrand believes his expertise can aid in discovering talented young players and identifying experienced senior performers.
Omar Mir, the sole funder for the group, is the Global Strategic Advisor to the Co-Founder/CEO of World Wide Technology, a major US-based technology company with annual revenues of approximately $20 billion (£15 billion). Mir also serves as an advisor to the King's Trust on AI and Advanced Technology.
Stuart Fiertz, co-founder of investment manager Cheyne Capital, and football agent Oliver Ward are also part of the SSC group. Mir holds a 95% stake in SSC, with the remaining 5% to be split equally between Bertrand, Fiertz, and Ward upon completion of the deal.
AFC Wimbledon stated that they evaluated offers from over 20 interested parties, with Bertrand's group emerging as the "strongest fit." The proposal will now be put to a vote by the 6,266 members of The Dons Trust. The voting period concludes on November 17, with the results announced the following day. For the vote to pass, at least 50% of eligible members must participate, 75% of the votes cast must be in favor, and 40% of all eligible members must vote in favor.