How Drake rescued Italian soccer club Venezia: Rap icon raised $40 million to save team from bankruptcy

Italian club Venezia FC have officially announced a new kit deal for the upcoming 2024-25 Serie A season with Nocta, Nike’s sub-brand owned by Canadian rapper Drake. When the new deal became public, it was revealed that Drake also saved the club to avoid bankruptcy last year, according to the report. 

Venezia FC, the side which was just promoted to Italy’s Serie A, is famous world wide for the quality of their soccer jerseys over the past years, and as the club has become iconic in the world of fashion, it offered a perfect entry for Drake and Nocta in the European soccer jersey market, but apparently that was not the first time Drake dealt with the team.  

The Italian edition of GQ revealed how Drake saved Venezia last season as the club needed an immediate injection of €10 million to keep the club safe, but at the same time they also required around €30 million to stay alive and avoid bankruptcy. Matte Babel, Drake’s chief brand officer, spoke to GQ and explained what happened. 

“I got a call from Brad Katsuyama, co-owner of Venezia and a good friend of mine. He explained the problem to me in a simple way: Venezia has to raise €10 million in a couple of weeks, and then at least €30 million in a few months, or the club will go bankrupt.

“Venezia is an incredible city, and Venezia has always been a special club. I spoke to Drake, then Brad, and I discussed the details of how we could help. Within two weeks, we had a deal, and raised the money needed to pay salaries and avoid bankruptcy.” At the end of the season Venezia FC managed to be promoted to Serie A under manager Paolo Vanoli, who left the club in the summer and joined Torino. Vanoli was replaced by former Frosinone boss Eusebio Di Francesco. 

Venezia is currently owned by American ownership VFC Newco 2020, founded in 2022 and led by American businessman Duncan Niederauer. The ownership group has recently formed an Operating Committee to oversee the strategic direction of the club, and the deal with Nocta and Drake looks to be the first step for a new direction.