Over the past few years, the Iranian government has been criticized by economists for not supporting the clubs owned and operated by the private sector. A number of Iranian businessmen and tycoons have started investing in local football clubs, but almost all of them have failed to make any profit from their investments.
Hossein Hedayati is a famous Iranian tycoon who is the founder and chairman of Steel Azin Iranian Holding Company. In recent years, he had offered financial supports to a number of local football clubs including but not limited to Persepolis, Malavan and Gahar Dorood.
According to local media reports, Hossein Hedayati had declared his interest in buying a foreign football club. “At this time, I’m looking to buy a professional club in Spain. We have already started negotiations with the officials of Getafe FC in this regard. I have offered to buy 51% of this club, but we want to buy at least 55% of its shares in order to be able to manage the club according to our discretion,”
Hedayati believes that the Iranian Football Federation and the local government are apparently not interested in supporting the private sector. “Unfortunately, local organizations are not helping the private sector in managing and maintaining football clubs. I would like to buy a foreign club mainly in the hope of making Iranian players more familiar with modern football,”
Hossein Hedayati says Iranian coaches and football managers should have active roles in European clubs to advance the level of football in the country. “I strongly believe that Iranian football coaches should consider working at European clubs. By buying Getafe, I will hire Iranian coaches to make them more experienced in this field,”
It is worth mentioning that the net worth of Hossein Hedayati is estimated to be around $2.5 billion.