Thecallwentout, startedby local fans, and theywere
quickly joinedby thevocalbackingofPremierLeaguestars
Michu,SantiCazorlaand JuanMata, allofwhombegan
theircareersatOviedo.ATwittercampaignstartedbySid
Lowe thenhelped togalvaniseaglobal response, asmore
than20,000ordinarysupporters from86countries–
includingEngland,Australia,Russia, Japan,Malaysiaand
Botswana– togetherraised€1.95m.
Thencame theclincher.On theCadenaCoperadioshow
Tiempode Juego
, journalistsMarcosLópezandPaco
GonzálezcalledArturoElías, son-in-lawof theMexican
magnateCarlosSlim– theworld’srichestmanwitha
fortuneworth$79.6bn (€63.1bn)–and joked thathis
father-in-lawshouldsaveOviedo.Andguesswhat?Slim
did just that,buying€2mworthof shares throughhis
global conglomerate,GrupoCarso,on17November. Slim
nowowns32.44%of theclub,but the fansremainmajority
shareholders,with40.81%.
“Myfirst reaction to thisstorywas
clappingandastandingovation to
everyone involved,”saysSkySports’
Spanish football expertGuillem
Balagué. “The local fans,SidLowe, the
radioguyswhoconvincedSlim.Many
fansmoan,butnotmanyareasactive
orcleveras thoseatOviedo.”
Lowewasshockedby thescaleof thecampaign. “The
responseonTwitter just snowballed,”hesays. “I’vespoken
toBritish fanswhobought sharesand theysaid the ideaof
ahistoricclubgetting in troublereallymoved them.The
sharesweresensiblycheapat€10.75.Therewassomething
tangiblehere too: fans felt theyownedapartof thisclub,
even though theirsharesweremoreofadonation.”
Theworkof local fanswascritical throughoutand
remainsso today.Garcíasentmore than8,000 tweetsand
1,500emails to thankandencourage foreignshareholders.
Gate19at thestadiumcarriesabanner
with thewords ‘ProudofYou’ inEnglish,
inhonourof the foreignshareholders,who
alsoreceivecomplimentarymatch tickets
CLOCKWISEFROMTOP
LEFT
Fansqueuing; a
custom-madekey fob;
theSymmachiarii, Real
Oviedo’shardcore fans;
RudolfoDíazcelebrates
agoal; strikerMiquel
LinaresCólera
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