Private Credit Is Using Football Transfer Fees as Collateral

A battle for talent among Europe’s top football teams is igniting a debt market using the players’ transfer fees as collateral.

With spending on players smashing $5 billion this summer, this business model is becoming so big it’s moving beyond niche financiers to start drawing the largest names in the world of private lending. Apollo Global Management Inc. and Blackstone Inc. are the latest to look at funding deals, according to people with knowledge of the matter.