At 39, Luka Modrić made his first football ownership investment in Swansea City when the club reported a £15.2m annual loss, now they’re top of the Championship | Football News
When Luka Modrić bought into Swansea City in April 2025, the Welsh club needed more than a famous name to change its fortunes, with financial losses mounting, managerial uncertainty lingering and Premier League football feeling increasingly distant. Eighteen months later, Swansea are leading the Championship, attracting heavyweight investors and rebuilding their football operations. Modrić’s arrival was never going to fix everything overnight, but what has happened since suggests that a club which had lost its direction is beginning to find it again.
Modrić arrived when Swansea needed a fresh start
Modrić became a minority investor and co-owner on April 14, 2025, joining American investors Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, Nigel Morris and Jason Cohen, who had bought out former majority owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan in November 2024. The new ownership group had inherited a club facing uncertainty on the pitch and considerable financial pressure, making the Croatian’s arrival part of a wider effort to restore ambition and international visibility.Swansea were sitting 12th in the Championship with 54 points when Modrić joined, after head coach Luke Williams had been dismissed in March and Alan Sheehan had taken temporary charge. The club had not played in the Premier League since relegation was confirmed on May 13, 2018, following a 2-1 defeat by Stoke City, ending a seven-year stay in the top flight.
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The financial position was equally difficult, with Swansea reporting a £15.2 million ($20 million) pre-tax loss for the financial year ending June 2024, although that represented an improvement on the £17.9 million ($23.6 million) deficit recorded the previous year. Turnover stood at £21.5 million ($28.3 million), while stadium and training-ground costs added to the pressures of competing in the Championship without a comparable redistribution agreement with the Premier League.In their financial statement, the board acknowledged that maintaining competitiveness in the division required continued support from the ownership group, which remained the club’s principal source of funding.Modrić brought something different from a conventional financial investor, combining the reputation of a Ballon d’Or winner with experience of elite football and a global profile that could help attract commercial partners and strengthen recruitment.“This is an exciting opportunity. Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fanbase, and the ambition to compete at the highest level,” Modrić said when the investment was announced. “Playing at the highest level, I believe I can provide my experience to the club. My goal is to support the club’s growth in a positive way and to help to build an exciting future.”Swansea described the investment as an endorsement of their ambitions, saying Modrić would help the club attract global attention and progress on and off the pitch.
A difficult season forced Swansea to change course
Modrić’s arrival did not immediately produce a turnaround, as Swansea struggled during the opening months of the 2025-26 season and found themselves worryingly close to the relegation zone by November. The ownership group responded with a more analytical approach to decision-making, eventually appointing Vitor Matos, a former Liverpool development coach who had worked under Jürgen Klopp, as head coach.Matos introduced a more aggressive, high-running style that revived elements of the traditional Swansea approach to possession and movement, helping the side regain stability after their difficult start. The improvement was gradual rather than spectacular, but it gave the club a platform to approach the following season with greater confidence and a clearer footballing identityThat progress has become more obvious in 2026-27, with Swansea collecting 20 points from their first nine league matches following a 2-1 victory over Norwich City on October 10. Their record of six wins, two draws and one defeat has taken them to the top of the Championship, representing their strongest start to a league campaign since 2019-20.For a club that had spent years struggling to turn its ambition of returning to the Premier League into something tangible, the change in mood matters almost as much as the position in the table. Steve Carroll, editor of the fanzine Swansea Oh Swansea, told reporters: “You can see the ambition and the ideas are there. People are talking about us in a positive way again.”
Snoop Dogg, new investors and a wider rebuilding plan
Swansea’s revival is not confined to the first team, with the ownership group pursuing commercial growth and infrastructure changes intended to leave the club in a stronger position for the long term. Rapper Snoop Dogg has joined the minority ownership group since Modrić’s arrival, adding another globally recognised name to the club’s commercial profile.
Swansea City co-owner Snoop Dogg ahead of the English Championship soccer match between Swansea City and Preston in Swansea, Wales, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Jacob King/PA via AP)
A strategic partnership with Los Angeles-based Shamrock Capital followed in July 2026, bringing additional financial backing from an investment firm managing approximately £5.5 billion ($7.3 billion) in assets. The deal formed part of a broader attempt to attract capital and develop the club without diluting existing shareholders’ stakes.Swansea have also strengthened their football operations, appointing former Crystal Palace staff member Ben Stevens as sporting director and partnering with Jamestown Analytics to modernise player recruitment. The club is negotiating to purchase the Swansea.com Stadium and Fairwood training facility outright from the local council, while seeking to restore its academy to Category One status by 2027.Further plans include fresh investment in the women’s team and major LED improvements around the stadium for supporters. The challenge is turning these projects into sustainable progress, particularly because the financial accounts remain a warning against assuming that a better league position automatically means a healthier business.In April 2026, Swansea reported a record £21.6 million ($28.5 million) net loss for the financial year ending June 2025, highlighting the cost of the rebuilding programme. There has nevertheless been encouraging commercial movement, with chief executive Tom Gorringe reporting in August that revenue had increased by more than 25% during the 2025-26 cycle, rising from approximately £22 million ($29 million) to around £27.8 million ($36.7 million).
Modrić has moved on from Madrid, but remains an elite footballer
While Swansea have been rebuilding, Modrić has undergone a major transition of his own without stepping away from the game. He left Real Madrid in the summer of 2025 after 13 seasons, having won 28 trophies, including six European Cups, four La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey trophies, while registering 43 goals and 95 assists in 597 appearances.His Madrid career also brought the 2018 Ballon d’Or, the Best FIFA Men’s Player award and the UEFA Player of the Year honour, cementing his place among the most accomplished midfielders of his generation. He joined AC Milan on a free transfer in July 2025 and made 37 appearances during his first season before agreeing to a contract extension through June 2027.
AC Milan’s Luka Modric jumps for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Lecce, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
At 41, Modrić remains an active member of Croatia’s national team and captained the country at his fifth World Cup in the summer of 2026, when Croatia were eliminated by Portugal in the round of 32. He scored against the Czech Republic in Croatia’s Nations League campaign on September 26, and on October 11, he came off the bench to provide the assist for Adrien Rabiot’s equaliser in Milan’s 1-1 draw with Sassuolo.His continued playing career gives Swansea a connection to a footballer who understands the demands of elite competition from the inside, rather than simply lending his name to an ownership announcement. The club still have financial challenges to overcome, and nine Championship matches are not enough to guarantee promotion, but the combination of better results, fresh investment and a clearer footballing plan has changed the conversation around Swansea.Modrić arrived when the club needed a fresh start, and the progress since then suggests that his first move into ownership has coincided with a more convincing direction for the Swans.
