Sergio Ramos and Five Eleven Capital have agreed with Sevilla's main shareholders on a price of about 450 million euros, but the deal is still not done. The final step remains approval from Spain's top sports authority, while the purchase contracts have yet to be signed.
The group and the shareholders completed the last steps of the operation on Tuesday, with the agreement still pending authorisation from the Consejo Superior de Deportes. That approval is required in Spain when someone seeks to buy 25% or more of a Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, and Ramos and his partners are aiming for that threshold or beyond.
The timing is tight. The LOI signed in January expires on 31 May, and the two sides are expected to sign the purchase in the coming days if no unexpected problem arises. The payment deadlines will vary depending on whether Sevilla remain in Primera División or drop to Segunda División, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already delicate process.
What gives the talks their urgency is Sevilla's financial state. Along with the takeover, Ramos and his group must carry out a capital increase of between 80 million and 100 million euros, money intended to ease the club's problems and improve its salary limit. Sevilla were still fighting to avoid relegation as the negotiations accelerated, leaving the club's future to be decided on two fronts at once: on the field and in the boardroom.
If the approval comes through and the contracts are signed before the LOI expires, the deal could move quickly from negotiation to control. If not, the window closes on 31 May, and the path to a takeover becomes much harder.
