Real Murcia put shares up for sale – and investors can have their say at shareholder summits for just £42
Italian giants Roma have backed Spanish third-tier club's plea for £16m of investment as Real fight for their existence
FANCY an annual trip to sunny Spain as a proud investor in a professional football club?
Anyone prepared to stump up £42 can now have their say in Real Murcia's rocky ride at shareholder summits.
Bearing in mind Real's recent plight, savvy speculators might not see the Spanish third-tier club as the type of punt that’ll end up paying for their dream beach bolthole.
But Murcia’s own civic charm – with its idyllic old town, lagoon and nearby beaches – might just be enough to entice frivolous football fans into parting with a quid in the name of an excuse for a jolly in southern Spain.
Hard times have fallen upon the ‘Paprika Men’, who've been peppered with tax bills and debt demands that have gone unpaid.
The Spanish FA relegated them from the second division in 2014 over their debt and the bank sheet has only got worse since.
Local press reported in October that players had not been paid for three months, with some employees having gone six months without a pay day.
As of June they were almost £50million in the red.
Club president Victor Galvez claimed he was stopped by the tax authorities from paying staff out of his own pocket.
Galvez is set to step down later this month after overseeing a capital increase which aims to raise 18m euros (£16m) by selling 147,541,000 shares.
With Alisher Usmanov swimming in even more cash after selling his stake in Arsenal for £550m, Galvez tried to convince the multi-billionaire Uzbek oligarch to help bail out the club.
But Usmanov now appears out of the running – and Real are offering the shares on their website from 1.22 euros (£1.08) for a minimum of ten.
And anyone who forks out for 390 shares – at a cost of £42 based on today’s exchange rate – has the right to pitch up at Real's annual shareholder’s meeting.
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More importantly, perhaps, they can help save a club fighting for its existence.
The campaign has been backed widely on social media, with Italian giants Roma offering their support.
Latest figures show Real have some way to go to reach their target, but they have so far raised around £215,000 – 1.3 per cent of the target.
Despite their financial woes, Real have made a solid start to the season on the pitch and sit seventh in group 4 of Segunda Division B.
Out of cash and out of luck, they've finished second or third in each of the last four seasons – but failed in the play-offs.
Painfully, the club – whose 31,000-seater stadium hosted a friendly between Spain and Colombia in June of last year – are nine points behind second-placed city rivals UCAM Murcia.
This Sunday the clubs meet for a derby showdown at UCAM’s 6,500-capacity home.
But if that one is too soon for prospective investors, they still have the away day in Ibiza to look forward to.
A decent run of results and a top-four finish would see Real get another shot at promotion back to the second tier.
But it’s been a decade since they last enjoyed regular top-flight trips to the Nou Camp and Bernabeu, with a return still looking some way off.