Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham has acquired a minority stake in cricket team Birmingham Phoenix. Bellingham, a native of Stourbridge, has acquired 1.2% of the shares in exchange for around £800,000. The Warwickshire County Cricket Club will remain the majority shareholder with 50.4%, while Birmingham City owners Knighthead Capital Management – a group in which NFL legend Tom Brady is a minority investor – will control the remaining 48.4%.
I feel I owe something to the city
When making his involvement with Phoenix public, Bellingham was proud: “I feel like I owe something to the city. And this seems like a good way to do it.” Speaking to Warwickshire CCC, the player also highlighted his link with cricket, remembering that he and his brother Jobe used to “fight” when they played as children, and noting that it is currently his favorite hobby to watch, apart from football. “Practically everything we did ended in fights and tears, whether it was playing Monopoly, football or cricket,” he added.
“In my case, I always felt that Birmingham was a place where everyone wanted everyone to succeed,” he said. “It was a place where I was lucky enough to grow up and people pushed you to want to be better than you were, or to be the best. I want to show people, show the world, that I come from an amazing place with amazing values.”
Playing cricket or football helps you learn to interact with people, understand people from different backgrounds and realise that you can have fun with anyone
Finally, the Real Madrid player reflected on the importance of team sports: “I think the things you learn playing cricket, football or team sports stay with you for life. Learning to interact with people, understanding people from different backgrounds and realising that you can have fun with anyone.”
Birmingham Phoenix is a cricket team that represents the historic counties of Warwickshire and Worcestershire in the newly fledged competition The Hundred, founded in 2021. Both the men’s and women’s teams play at the Warwickshire County Cricket Club ground, Edgbaston Cricket Ground, in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham.
The connection to Tom Brady
The global profile of Birmingham Phoenix has received a massive boost following the successful bid by Knighthead Capital Management, the US-based investment firm backed by seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
By securing a 48.4% stake in the Hundred franchise, Brady and his business partners are expanding their footprint in the city’s sports landscape, building on their existing ownership of Birmingham City FC.
This high-profile partnership, which now also features England superstar Jude Bellingham as a fellow minority investor, aims to blend American sports expertise with the local passion for cricket, further cementing Birmingham’s status as a key destination for international sports investment.
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