Connect with us

Championship

‘Moneyball’ star Billy Beane targeting Barnsley purchase

The subject of the Brad Pitt starring film could be heading to South Yorkshire.

(Photo: Action Images via Reuters)

By Alex Beard

Moneyball could be heading to South Yorkshire as the subject of the Brad Pitt starring film is reportedly set to become an owner of side in a £20m deal.

Billy Beane, the vice president of baseball operations at the MLB’s Oakland Athletics is said to be teaming with Chinese billionaire Chien Lee to purchase the .

The 55-year-old Beane rose to prominence with the A’s through his unprecedented use of computer analytics – revolutionising the way baseball team’s select their players.

He is now a minority owner of the California-based franchise, and is said to be part of a consortium set to secure a 98.5% share in ‘s side.

The American was the subject matter of both the book and film named ‘Moneyball’ – being played by Brad Pitt in the latter.

Billionaire Lee is the majority shareholder of French club Nice, who managed a commendable third place finish in Ligue 1 last season.

The deal could be completed by the end of this month, with the Tykes searching for outside investment after current owner Patrick Cryne informed fans this week that he was terminally ill and was ‘living on borrowed time’.

Beane has been in charge in Oakland for the past 20 years and his current deal with the team expires in 2019. He has long been an avid follower of English – and could now be set to fulfil his dream of being involved with a British club.

Related Topics
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tackle the News

- Sign Up for our weekly Football League Newsletter Today!
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Best Betting Sites at Betinireland.ienew-UK-football-betting-sites-banner

More in Championship

  •

    Florian Bianchini can be fab for Portsmouth – John Mousinho

    Portsmouth boss John Mousinho is tipping French loan capture Florian Bianchini to make a major impact at Fratton Park. Pompey have borrowed the versatile 24-year-old attacker from divisional rivals Swansea. The former Amiens and Bastia man netted three goals in 36 Championship games for the Swans last season, but only...

  •

    Chris Dunlavy: Big-hitters and rookie bosses join Championship madhouse!

    The FLP looks at the key Championship talking points The Championship season hasn’t even kicked off yet, and already we’ve seen transfer embargoes, unpaid wages and a host of other off-field issues. Then there’s the arrival of two big-hitters from League One in the shape of big-spending Birmingham and Hollywood-backed...

  •

    John Lyons: Sheffield Wednesday’s plight raises fears

    Concerns are growing as to whether Sheffield Wednesday will be in a position to kick off their Championship season at Leicester City next Sunday. There have been a raft of player departures in the past fortnight at the crisis-hit club. Wages were delayed in both May and June and the...

  •

    John Lyons: Closing in on the Championship…

    A host of Championship clubs put the finishing touches to their pre-season preparations yesterday. Stoke warmed up for their curtain-raiser at home against Derby next Saturday by earning a morale-boosting 1-0 win against Premier League new-boys Burnley. Ben Wilmot notched the Potters’ first half winner. Birmingham rounded off their pre-season...