LAFC buy Grasshopper Club - "Iconic brand in Swiss and European football"

Los Angeles FC have entered into a long-term partnership with Swiss Super League side Grasshopper Club. Part of the partnership includes LAFC now being the new majority shareholder of Grasshopper Football Ltd. A minority stake will remain with the Grasshopper Fussball Stiftung.

“We are so excited to partner with GC Zürich,” LAFC Co-President & CBO Larry Freedman said. “Grasshopper Club Zürich is an iconic brand in both Swiss and European football, with an incredible tradition of success and a foundation built on developing top-level talent.”

The LA-based club now own 96.5% of the shares, as Grasshopper vice-president Andras Gurovits explained at a press conference on Wednesday evening, according to the newspaper Blick. No details of the purchase price were initially disclosed. In recent years, the club has had an annual deficit in Swiss francs in the double-digit millions.

LAFC recently also invested in FC Wacker Innsbruck and last year launched a partnership with FC Bayern Munich to improve talent development in South America and Africa. 

In an interview with Transfermarkt in April 2023, John Thorrington already hinted that there is certainly more to come: “We’ve had numerous conversations with clubs globally, even before we started playing in MLS. (...) The medium- and the long-term plan is to have a global network of partners around the world that serve the interests of the network and provide opportunities for young talent to play at the highest levels possible”.