Carlos Slim invests in Oviedo

The world’s richest man has become the majority shareholder at Real Oviedo, buying €2m worth of shares.

The club were in financial crisis and appealed publicly at the start of November for assistance, offering shares to anyone at a cost of €10.75 each, in order to raise €1.9m to stave off the threat of liquidation.

Oviedo confirmed late last week that they were close to this target and had raised enough to ensure their short-term survival, but Slim has still come in today to acquire €2m of his own shares in the club.

Making him the majority shareholder, the Mexican has already communicated a desire to keep current President Toni Fidalgo in his position.

The self-made 72-year-old telecommunications businessman Slim is reported by Forbes to hold a personal fortune of $69bn and has been heavily rumoured in recent weeks to harbour a strong enough interest in Spanish football to prompt investment in a club.