Last season, Canadian rapper Drake played a crucial role in saving Italian football club Venezia from financial ruin.
The club which has been facing acute problem of debts since it got relegated from Serie A in season 2022/23 was in dire need of money to avoid bankruptcy.
Financial Crisis at Venezia
Venezia had made approximately €20 million on transfers during the 2021-22 Serie A season as they fought to avoid relegation after no appearance in 20 years.
But nonetheless they were relegated back to Serie B and this was the place where they stayed for two successive seasons.
As early as the 2023–24 season, Venezia required €10m to meet its operating costs and at least €30m to sustain itself over the longer term.
Drake’s Intervention
The rapper’s involvement came through his chief brand officer Matte Babel who spoke to GQ Italia, admitted being approached by Canadian investor and co-owner of Venezia, Brad Katsuyama.
Le cose più incredibili succedono a Venezia. Più precisamente, al Venezia FC, che qualche mese fa ha festeggiato la promozione in Serie A e ora annuncia un nuovo incredibile partner tecnico: Nocta, la sub-label Nike di Drake. Scopri come https://t.co/6YLMz1ER2l pic.twitter.com/WN4CY9818i
— gqitalia (@GQitalia) August 10, 2024
Katsuyama shared with the club members its current financial instability and the necessity of receiving a large amount of cash in the near future.
Babel, realizing that Venezia is not only a football club but also a city, spoke to Drake about it.
In two weeks, they raised €40 million, which was sufficient to finance the salaries of the club and address the issue of financial instability.
Meanwhile Sportsbuddy reported in March that, Nigerian Afrobeats sensation Davido playfully taunted Canadian rapper Drake after his loss of $615,000, equivalent to ₦950 million in a bet.
With Drake’s timely financial injection, Venezia was able to avoid shutting down and continued its operations.
This intervention was vital in the survival of the club and enabled them to gain promotion to Serie A through the play offs in June 2024.
