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Los Angeles FC offered to sell Swiss club Grasshopper on Tuesday after fans protested with profanity at a home match in Zurich.
The record 27-time Swiss champion has been entrenched in 11th place in the 12-team league since LAFC’s stellar ownership group purchased a majority stake in January 2024. LAFC owners include entertainment titans Peter Guber and Mark Shapiro, Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson, Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra.
Grasshopper fans rioted this month after a Swiss Cup semifinal loss at second-division Stade Lausanne Ouchy, unfurling a banner at a league match Saturday calling on the American owners to leave.
“Recent protests have asked us to leave the club,” LAFC said in a statement in English and German posted on Grasshopper’s website.
“We want to make it clear that we are open to discussions about a total or partial sale (of the club), as long as it guarantees the long-term sustainability of the club.”
Grasshopper is among dozens of European soccer clubs that now have American investment, after previously having owners in China. They have proven resistant to any quick fix in 23 years since their last league title and 13 years after winning the Swiss Cup.
A large majority of European clubs lose money and, LAFC said, “the financial reality remains that (Grasshopper’s) running costs continue to exceed its current revenues, and the club relies on continued external support to compete in professional soccer.”
The club shares the publicly owned Letzigrund stadium, also a historic athletics venue, with city rival Zurich.
“We understand the frustration and we share it,” LAFC said Tuesday, insisting that “we have invested significantly” and again offering to meet with fan groups.
“Without continued investment from the owners, (the club) will not exist as a professional football organization. However, if that were the genuine desire of the fans, we are willing to engage in discussions on that basis as well.”
With four rounds left in the league, Grasshopper are set for an 11th-place finish and another relegation playoff to stay in the top tier. That round-trip tiebreaker is against the second division runner-up.
Information from The Associated Press.
