The Russian businessman created a miracle in the Abramovich League: he invited Ronaldo and believed in strange signs

“He saved the club” Russian trace in English football is associated primarily with Roman Abramovich. But there was another example when a Russian businessman successfully entered the fields of foggy Albion. Moreover, he managed to make almost impossible – to bring the semi -professional club to the Premier League!

Brave for Torpedo, I learned about the new club by chance

The next coat of English football was the oil magnate Maxim Demin. As is usually in such stories, there is not much information about his biography. It is known that he worked in the United States for many years, then he was the top manager of Tatneft, and since 2005 he managed the oil business in England. “The wife wanted his son to get an education in England, and then he had to go to first grade. I had a plan to engage in oil and English real estate, ”Demin said.Getty Imagesk football oligarch was treated as a fan – since childhood, he supported the Moscow Torpedo. But the car factory was not destined to feel the charms of work with Demin. Instead, his eyes fell on Bornmouth – a semi -professional club from the bottom of English football. The team barely made ends meet, and the fans rejoiced in a non -resettled league from the fourth in rank. One can imagine what inheritance the Russian businessman got! How did Fate have tied Demin and Bournmut? The businessman bought a plot for the construction of a house in the city of the same name, and his companion was Eddie Mitchell – part -time owner of the club. Behind a cup of tea, he talked about big problems with his asset: salaries were delayed by the players, the coaches left, and the league fined due to debts. Demin, without thinking twice, decided to go to football and see what kind of club Mitchell is. Having examined several matches live, the businessman gave the companion of 400 thousand pounds to repay tax debts. Then he paid 450 thousand for half of the Bournmut shares, and then completely bought the entire asset. In Demin, a sporting interest woke up – he wanted to get the club from the basement to the elite of English football. As in a computer manager, only live.Getty Images -grader Demina, businessman Denis Stepanov admitted that the decision of the oligarch was a surprise to everyone – both friends and financial partners. In their circles, Bournmut was considered “an expensive toy and a suitcase without a pen.”

Invited Ronaldo and set ambitious tasks

But Maxim seriously took up a new business. He changed the managers, increased the costs of transfers and returned the coach – Eddie Hau began to work with the team again. Together with the growth of investment, the appetites of the oligarch grew – Demin demanded an increase in the class almost every season. The businessman himself once admitted: “I set the task to go to the championship in one year. Hau called me crazy. “But Demina’s optimism and made his own a serious approach to the club. Bornmouth in a short time became a thunderstorm of lower leagues, constantly getting promoted to higher divisions. Eddie Hau bathed in a fan adoration, and active fans longed for an early exit to the Premier League – a dream that at the end of the zero seemed unbearable. In July 2013, Bornmut suddenly played with Madrid Real Madrid – however, not in an official match, but in a friendly. It is not known how much money Demin spent to drag Cristiano Ronaldo and the company to the English province. For the sake of honorary guests, he repaired the stadium, which hut to capacity – and this despite the fact that tickets were six times more expensive than usual. But which fan from Bournmouth will refuse to look at the living Ronaldo?Getty Imageshfinity, there was no sensation. Real Madrid produced Bornmut, playing in the championship, with a score of 6: 0. The double was designed by Ronaldo, once he scored Hedira himself, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Cademiro. The Spaniards checked their forces before the start of the new season, and Bournmouth raised a good box office.

Beat Abramovich’s club and believed in signs

In the 2014/15 season, a real miracle occurred. Bornmouth, who had recently been on the verge of bankruptcy, took first place in the champion and went to the Premier League. The fairy tale, which seemed delirium, became a reality. The excavation in the class of the Actic Demin was designed on April 27, 2015 – on this day, Bournmouth at his stadium scored three unrequited goals to Bolton. After the whistle, joyful fans ran out onto the field, and the commentator on the air paid tribute to the businessman: “Russian investor Maxim Demin Spas the club, and soon his team will play in the Premier League.” 60 thousand people entered the parade in honor of the championship – about a third from the entire population of Bournmouth.Getty Images said that in the elite league, the Demin club would be lost. But no! Under the control of the Bornmut Magnat, he became a strong middle peasant of the Premier League and regularly bit of the Grandes. For example, the first meeting with Chelsea, Roman Abramovich, brought to a newcomer a sensational victory – 1: 0. In the championship of England, Bornmut spent five seasons in a row and once rose to ninth place. At the beginning of 2020, the team flew to the championship, but after two seasons returned back. What is the secret of success? Demin was not only a talented football manager, but also an extremely superstitious person. Even at the dawn of his formation in Bournemut, he introduced a rule according to which the VIP-ramps were seated strictly in certain places. Maxim rarely went to football matches because he considered himself “unhappy.” Moreover, he completely forbade his friend Denis Stepanov! “Empirically, we realized that, no matter how Stepanov is planted, the result would be deplorable,” Demin joked.

Sold the club hockey investor

The idyll of Bornmut ended in December 2022. Maxim Demin sold all the shares of the club Bill Fowley, who is known as the owner of the hockey “Vegas”. The reason was business problems accumulated since the first wave of Covid. At the same time, the sanctions did not affect it – according to some reports, Demin has citizenship of Great Britain and Switzerland. What is the businessman is doing now is unknown. His brainchild plays in the Premier League and while holding on to the top ten. For a long time, Fowley’s sunk is enough – a question. But Demin in Bournmouth will be remembered as the author of one of the most beautiful football fairy tales in history.