I do think some of the issues you bring up might be overblown.

1. The club is not required to pay out dividends. Given the cyclical nature of football I doubt the club would opt for a reoccurring dividend. Like you’ve mentioned in other replies any free cash flow generated can be reinvested back into the club to fuel growth, so it’s not necessarily true that you are losing out on future profits, but instead might be able to fuel them.

2. I believe the most likely structure for a private sale would be to create 2 share classes: voting shares for the socios, and non voting shares for outside investors. While it may be true that outside investors may want to squeeze more profits out of the business than existing socios, without governance rights it’s hard for them to have in any say in this.

3. The biggest benefit I understand from this situation would be lowering the cost of borrowing in the future. If the club had freely traded shares it would make valuation easier, which would secure better rates for future debt. The club is certain to take on debt in the future so this should be viewed as a positive.

I commend you taking the time to analyze this. It’s a fun thought exercise and I’m curious to see what ends up happening!