A group of US investors backed by Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg are reportedly in talks to buy Tottenham – and fans of the club are mostly excited at the prospect.
The Sunday Times claim that secretive American company Iconiq Capital has held extensive talks via buyout firms about taking control of the north London club.
It is said that the negotiations date back to 2014 and have featured a mammoth bid of £882.6million for the Premier League outfit.
But Spurs’ billionaire owner Joe Lewis has reportedly knocked back the offer from the California-based firm and is holding out for an extraordinary asking price of £2billion.
Fans of the north London club dubbed reports of interest from Zuckerberg, whose extreme wealth has led to Forbes ranking him the fifth richest person in the world, as “crazy” and a “joke” but were nonetheless intrigued at the link.
This Is Futbol has rounded up some of the best tweets:
Announce Mark Zuckerberg #COYS
— ? Martin ? (@MartenTHFC) July 9, 2017
I just want Zuckerberg to buy Spurs for the following snapchat filter. #zuckerberg #coys
— Chapter (@diamondx1982) July 9, 2017
Imagine being owned by Zuckerberg and his @facebook chums ???? No ta. #COYS
— Ben Harris (@thisisbenharris) July 9, 2017
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg considering £1bn bid for Tottenham https://t.co/wDV691Oip0 #COYS hope this is true
— Paul Michael Ainger (@ainger13) July 9, 2017
This is crazy if this is true #Facebook #COYS ?????? https://t.co/0tzZcwAtj3
— FayeAllum (@faye_allum) July 9, 2017
Facebook to buy Spurs? Got to be a joke! Ha ha ha! #COYS #THFC
— Mr Ree ? (@Mr_Ree_) July 9, 2017
Iconiq Capital is a San Francisco fund that manages the wealth of a number of Silicon Valley billionaires, including Zuckerberg, the 33-year-old founder, chairman and chief executive of Facebook.
City sources cited by the Sunday Times said Iconiq have been pushing for three years to take Tottenham off the hands of the reclusive Lewis.
The 80-year-old, who lives in the Bahamas, is the majority shareholder of ENIC International Ltd, which controls Spurs.
Lewis appointed chairman Daniel Levy, who has a 29 per cent stake in ENIC, to run the Premier League club in 2001 and it has become increasingly successful on the pitch in recent seasons, finishing second in 2016-17.
Off it, Lewis has continued to build up his wealth and the Forbes Rich List for 2017 places him as the fifth richest person in the UK and 269th in the world.
Spurs are going through a transformative spell after decades in the shadow of bitter rivals Arsenal.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, the team finished second in last season’s Premier League and have been widely hailed for having a vibrant and youthful team that is one of the most exciting to watch in Europe.
It also features in-demand stars such as Dele Alli and Harry Kane, who are two of the best players in the Premier League.