Dubai: Hollywood star George Clooney could be set to buy struggling championship side Derby County. The cash-strapped club, managed by former Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney, have been in administration for six months and are desperate for a new owner - and that could be the Ocean’s 11 star. He is believed to be heading a consortium to purchase them.
The 60-year-old actor is a fan of the team having been introduced to them by Derby-born actor Jack O’Connell on the set of the 2016 film Money Monster. Clooney has already tried to get into the world of football when he attempted to buy Spanish club Malaga but a deal fell through in 2020. Now, he is considering a bid for the Pride Park club.
In an interview with the Derbyshire Life magazine, he said, “Derby has a great football club with a fantastic history and I am sure there is a great future too. I know that there have been problems in recent times but nothing cannot be fixed and under the circumstances the team has been working really hard and playing well.”
Interest in soccer
The American actor and filmmaker continued, “It’s obvious to me, looking on, that as well as the players on the pitch, the fans have played their part on the pitch too. My interest in soccer has certainly grown in recent years and a few years ago I was asked if I would like to be involved with a group of others looking to buy Malaga Football Club in Spain. It was quite an exciting prospect but ultimately it fell through. Perhaps owning a football club is the next best thing to playing for one. Maybe, one day....”
Winner of the British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards added, “I have worked with quite a few British football fans and their moods were often dependent on how well their favourite soccer team had performed in their latest game. I found it quite curious and wanted to know what made that happen. Nobody wants to see their team lose but it seemed that British football fans were much more involved in the importance of the result.”
Clooney is not the first Hollywood A-lister to fall in love with the English game. In November 2020 actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, bought National League side Wrexham AFC while Rocky star Sylvester Stallone is a committed Everton fan. Castaway actor Tom Hanks is known to support Aston villa and Cameron Diaz follows Brentford.
