Premier League owners ranked best to worst after Man City 'sham' verdict - have your say

Who in their right mind would want to own a football club? Quite a few people, as it turns out, especially in the Premier League, where success brings colossal financial rewards.

Yet, with supporters and the media dissecting every move, running a top-flight club is not for the faint-hearted. The scrutiny on owners is in the spotlight following the landmark verdict against Manchester City, who have been found guilty of 114 of the 115 Premier League charges brought against them.

The investigation revealed that City engaged in a nearly £1billion scheme involving "sham" arrangements designed to inflate revenues, disguise costs and evade Premier League and UEFA financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. The scandal has severely tarnished Sheikh Mansour's tenure and cast a shadow over the club's era of dominance.

As fans and rival clubs wait to learn how City, who intend to appeal against the verdict, will be punished, Mirror Football rates the Premier League's owners from best to worst…

And, if after you've gone through our list and disagree with us, have a go at ranking the best and worst owners yourself at the bottom of this article.

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It wasn't that long ago that the Bees were a lower-league side, struggling to get by. Under Benham, who began investing in his beloved club in 2007, they have become Premier League regulars, have flirted with European football and boast an impressive new stadium.

Another fan of the club he owns, Bloom has invested hundreds of millions across the club to make it a slick operation on and off the pitch. It's not by chance that Premier League heavyweights (mainly Chelsea) keep cherry-picking their best players for vast sums. But it doesn't hold the Seagulls back.

Like the two clubs above them, the Cherries have spent the majority of their existence outside the top flight. Foley, who heads the Black Knight Football Club ownership, has picked up the baton from previous owner Maxim Demin and taken the Dorset club into Europe.

Following years of upheaval, including stints playing home games in Birmingham and Northampton, and dropping all the way down to League Two, King has brought much-needed stability to the Sky Blues on and off the pitch since taking over in 2023. His decision to sack legendary manager Mark Robins and hire Frank Lampard looked dubious at the time, but it has paid off handsomely.

While the Eagles have enjoyed great success in recent times, the largest shareholder, Woody Johnson, cannot take the credit, given that he only bought out John Textor last year. Boyhood Palace fan Steve Parish, who has a 10 per cent stake, still runs day-to-day operations. With FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League trophies in the cabinet, Eagles fans can't complain.

The pair have made Villa a true force in the Premier League and across Europe, only to be held back by matters beyond their control. Sawiris and Edens could invest far more than they do, but spending rules have led to extensive player trading, including the sale of top stars like Morgan Rogers. Still, the club appears to be well run, and with the excellent Unai Emery at the helm, there's no reason why they can't recover from their slow start to the season.

Not so long ago, Gunners fans were complaining about 'Silent Stan' for his alleged lack of investment in the squad. The chequebook has certainly come out in recent years, and the Premier League trophy is finally back in the cabinet. Kroenke remains quiet, but so have become the moaners.

The American owners haven't always been the flavour of the month with Reds fans, but you can't knock what has been achieved on the pitch and how much they back their managers. Liverpool have been English football's second most successful over the last decade. And had Man City operated within the rules, they would probably have achieved even more.

Louis-Dreyfus, 29, may be one of football's youngest owners, but he has put some of his older counterparts to shame with his sensible leadership and astute spending. Under his watch, the Black Cats have risen from League One to the Premier League, where they look to be putting down roots again.

Leeds aren't quite back where they were in the early 70s and early 90s, but they are heading in the right direction under the American investment firm, which has ambitious plans to expand the club's beloved but ageing Elland Road stadium.

The Tigers had slipped down to League One under unpopular previous owners, the Allam family. Ilicali inherited a Championship side that looked unlikely to trouble the Premier League anytime soon. But the Turkish TV mogul has galvanised the Tigers on and off the pitch.

The Tractor Boys' ownership is a complicated mix of various investors and groups, but it seems to be working. Having fallen as far as the third tier, the Suffolk side looks set for an era of yo-yoing between the Premier League and the Championship.

The Pakistani-American billionaire is one of the Premier League's longest-serving owners, having taken over from Mohamed Al-Fayed in 2013. The Cottagers spent the first half of their reign outside the top flight but have been a respectable mid-table side since 2022. That said, Khan has faced criticism for high ticket prices and an alleged lack of investment.

The Saudi-backed ownership of the Magpies hasn't gone according to plan. Yes, the club ended its long wait for silverware and had a couple of Champions League jaunts, but progress has stalled. The club's hands are tied by spending rules, and numerous star players, plus Eddie Howe, have left. Rumours persist that PIF will eventually attempt to offload their majority stake in the club.

There are two ways of looking at Marinakis' ownership. In one respect, he has taken Forest back to the top flight after more than 20 years away and has invested vast sums in the club. However, you can't help but feel that Forest would be in an even better position without Marinakis's hire-and-fire policy, which has made the club a laughing stock at times. Also, his lobbying for Crystal Palace to be kicked out of the Europa League - to be replaced by Forest - completely backfired as the Eagles went on to win the Conference League to qualify for... that's right, the Europa League.

The jury is out on the group headed by US billionaire Dan Friedkin, who bought out Farhad Moshiri in late 2024. While he is an improvement on Moshiri, it's a low bar. Manager David Moyes' recent revelation that he has yet to speak to Friedkin doesn't bode well.

There's something heartwarming about Chelsea's approach for the rest of football. It's proof that spending incredible amounts of money doesn't guarantee success. It feels like a Football Manager novice is at the controls, not a group of successful businesspeople. That said, the Blues certainly know how to sell a player, having made big money from trading, although that carries little weight with impatient Blues fans.

It doesn't seem to matter whether Spurs spend nothing, spend big, hire a big-name or an up-and-coming manager; the result seems to be the same. Off the pitch, largely thanks to the now departed Daniel Levy, the club has been run superbly. But where it really matters, the Lilywhites seem to lurch from one crisis to another, and the buck stops at the top with owners ENIC.

The Glazers were deeply unpopular from the day they took charge in the mid-2000s. United fans could tolerate it while the team was still successful, but once the trophies dried up following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, the bad blood towards the family intensified. Things have barely improved under minority owner Ratcliffe, now in charge of football operations, with mass cuts off the pitch and limited success on it. There's also a feeling that the club's most loyal supporters have been marginalised.

City fans can point to the trophies and the memories, plus the investment and regeneration in the area, but it's all been completely tarnished by the guilty verdict and breathtaking scale of their rule-breaking. It will take years, possibly decades, for the club's reputation to be repaired. Was it all worth it?