World’s Richest Man Carlos Slim Invest in Spain’s Real Oviedo

The world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, is set to become the top shareholder in troubled Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo after investing 2 million euros in the club, his third known sports acquisition so far this year.

Real Oviedo, once a top team, has gradually lost its luster amid deep financial and labor troubles. They last played in the top flight in 2001 and are now down in the regional Segunda B (third tier) and are currently fourth, five points behind leaders Tenerife.

Many individual investors have responded to the club’s appeal for cash in recent weeks. Real Madrid club invested earlier in November some USD 127,100 to help its Asturian rival keep afloat.

“We are at around 35 percent (stake) which makes us, by far, the top holder,” Slim’s spokesman and chief aide Arturo Elias Ayub told Reuters on Saturday.

He said additional investments in the Spanish team were being received until midnight Saturday. The investment in the Real Oviedo was made via Slim’s privately held Inmobiliaria Carso.

The team “has a lot of qualities, has an impressive history, a strong following,” Elias Ayub added. “More than a business investment, it was a personal investment (for Slim), a support to the team’s fans.”

Slim, who owns telecommunications, infrastructure, retail, mining and banking businesses, tapped the sports world in September after his mobile phone giant, America Movil.