Brooklyn Nets’ superstar Kevin Durant recently decided to venture into soccer. According to Sports Business Daily, Durant purchased a stake in MLS side Philadelphia Union, becoming the team’s minority owner.
While details of the deal still remain under wraps, Durant’s stake in Union’s ownership structure is between 1% and 5%.
Durant has tried to invest in a soccer team for some time now and has made two previous attempts to get a stake in his hometown club D.C. United. The 31-year-old failed in his efforts but remained interested in the MLS market and didn’t think much after the opportunity with Philly presented itself.
Philadelphia Union started playing Major League Soccer as an expansion team in 2010. The club hasn’t seen much success on the field so far, but it has a growing fan base and might prove to be a sound investment in years to come.
Surprisingly, Kevin Durant isn’t the first NBA star to pursue business opportunities in soccer. Houston Rockets’ star James Harden is part of an ownership group that took over Houston Dynamo and owns a small piece of the club. LeBron James branched into soccer investments a long time ago, having purchased a 2% stake in Premier League giants, Liverpool, in 2011.
