Jay-Z Might Try to Buy English Soccer Club Tottenham Hotspur: Report

Music legend and mogul Jay-Z is looking to expand his business empire.

The rapper is reportedly considering buying Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, according to Football365 and Daily Express US. Hov is preparing a bold bid with a group of investors from America who are interested in taking over from the team’s current owner, British billionaire Joe Lewis.

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Of course, there’s a big factor that may complicate a potential deal: Federal prosecutors in Manhattan recently charged Lewis with insider trading, alleging the financier unlawfully gave nonpublic information to friends and associates to trade on. Many of these chats reportedly took place on his 321-foot superyacht, Aviva.

“He used inside information as a way to compensate employees and shower gifts on friends and lovers,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a statement. A lawyer for Lewis, David Zornow, told The New York Times that prosecutors had “made an egregious error in judgment in charging Mr. Lewis, an 86-year-old man of impeccable integrity and prodigious accomplishment.”

A family trust linked to Lewis owns a majority stake in ENIC, the business entity that owns most of the shares of the north London team. In response to the recent charges against the billionaire, Tottenham Hotspur said, “This a legal matter unconnected with the club, and as such we have no comment.”

Forbes estimates that Jay-Z—who owns a minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets, among other business entities—has a net worth of $2.5 billion. The “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” hitmaker is reportedly waiting to see if Lewis is found guilty for his opportunity to snap up the team.

His interest in a Premier League team would not be new, as he tried to become a major investor at Arsenal back in 2010, according to TimeOut. “I don’t know a lot about the business of soccer, but in the future if the right opportunity presented itself, then who knows?” he said at the time.

This may just be that opportunity Hov has been looking for.

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