In the Anglo -Saxon world, it has become fashionable to spend money on lower divisions clubs in search of a history of overcoming and growth worthy of a series to ‘Ted Lasso’. Now it has touched the turn of the Cameron brothers and Tyler Winklevos, known, among other things, for accusing Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea to create Facebook and for having become billionaires thanks to cryptocurrencies.
The team chosen by the Winklevos twins is the Real Bedford FC, which plays in the central division of the Southern League, which would be equivalent to the eighth division of English football. The negotiations began in April 2024, but the agreement has finally closed now, almost a year later, in an amount of 3,58 million pounds (just over 4’3 million euros), according to Sky Sports. That money serves the brothers to take 45% of the club and become co -owners. Although it was rumored that the investment could be made in Bitcoins, it will finally be made in legal tender money.
An image of a real Bedford.real Bedford encounter
The ‘pirates’ team
These ‘cryptobros’ are not the first to look at the Real Bedford FC. The team was already bought by the ‘Podcast’ of Cryptocurrencies Peter McCormack in 2021, who said he had the goal of bringing the Bedford to the Premier League. In fact, it was his initiative the name change (it was renamed Real Bedford FC for the 202233) and shield season (now it looks a skull with two warm, so they are known as “the pirates”). Before the millionaire acquisition, the average assistance to the team matches was 40 fans.
Cameron Winklevos has already declared a year ago the motivation of his investment: “We believe that Real Bedford has the ability to challenge the probabilities, change the established and dethrones the headlines. We worship the stories of ‘covered’, because they can literally change the game ” Real Bedford is assuming other changes, at the same time: he has recently announced that he is in negotiations for his merger with the Bedford Town FC, which plays a category above. In the official statement, they explain that they intend to combine “the commercial success and global scope” of Real Bedford with “the rich history, the faithful fans and the infrastructure” of the Bedford Town. It also highlights that the amount disbursed by Winklevos twins is the greatest investment in English football excluding the first two categories.
Investments in small teams follow
Now, of the 13 sponsors that appear on the main page of Real Bedford FC, 11 have to do with cryptocurrencies (Gemini, which is owned by the Winklevos; Galaxy, Iren, Luxor, Coincorner, Ledger, Wolf, House, Botanixlabs, Fold and plexus). The remaining two are from different fields: a beer manufacturer (Brewpoint) and a local Bedford company of reforms, plumbing and electricity (PJH). Even Real Bedford’s official website asks for donations for your quarry teams through Bitcoin.
The Winklevos brothers are not the first to bet on investing in English leagues. Rob Mcelhenney and actor Ryan Reynolds bought the Wrexham in 2021 and have already placed it in the League One, the third division in the British system. Several former Manchester United players (such as Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes) did the same with Salford City, which is already on League Two. Rob Hepburn, the lawyer who has advised the Winklevos in his latest investment, declared in Sky News: “The agreement demonstrates again the appeal that English football has for investors, especially when it can be exploited from the media point of view ”
The Winklevos brothers, paddling in 2010.Getty images
A movie life
But who are the Winklevos twins? The last name became particularly famous following the 2010 film ‘The Social Network’, which deals with the origin of Facebook. The brothers met Mark Zuckerberg in Harvard, shared their incipient social media projects and, supposedly, reached a verbal agreement to distribute the benefits. When this agreement was not respected, they sued Zuckerberg for stealing their idea and code to create Facebook. The trial was not resolved until 2011, when the brothers chose to stop claiming more money as compensation.
Meanwhile, the life of the Winklevos has been the most complete. They remained in Harvard, with good results for the university, and became Olympic rowers forming a couple in Beijing 2008, where they ended up in a worthy sixth position. Apart from their sports life, they founded Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange platform, and became the first billionaires verified by this route. Now, they are calculated a net worth of around 2,140 million pounds, and have become a great support from Donald Trump in his campaign to be president of the United States.