Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is a prominent and longstanding club in English football. Not many know, that they are one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888, the club’s rich history is intertwined with that of the English top flight.
Based in Wolverhampton, England, the club’s origins can be traced all the way back to 1877. That said, a lot of the credit belongs to the Wolverhampton owners throughout their nearly 150-year existence for keeping the club ticking to this day. Notably, the gold and black outfit has been recognized as Wolverhampton Wanderers since 1879.
That said, in this article, we will briefly summarise and gloss over the history of the owners of Wolverhampton Wanderers, the birth of the club, its historical events, years of turbulence, and finally how things have changed under the current owner of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Background
Before getting to the Wolverhampton owner, let’s start with a brief look at the history of the club and its accomplishments. Notably, ‘The Wolves’ have won the First Division League title 3 times, whilst finishing as runners-up on 5 occasions. Additionally, Wolves have also won the Championship 4 times, whilst finishing as runners-up twice and winning the playoffs once as well.
Notably, the club has captured the FA Cup on 4 separate occasions whilst finishing second an equal number of times. Interestingly, the club also has numerous other domestic title wins such as the Football League Cup, FA Charity Shield, and more. Last but not least, Wolves also have a UEFA Cup to their name, which is equivalent to a Europa League trophy in today’s day and age.
That said, it is evident that Wolverhampton Wanderers are neither the biggest nor the most popular English club. Regardless, it has a fanbase of nearly 3.5 million supporters, which in recent times, has started to include many Portuguese fans. As such, it is expected that this number will gradually increase, owing to a positive trajectory and also the club’s hierarchy. That said, let’s find out who owns Wolverhampton Wanderers and what they have accomplished with the club.
List of Wolverhampton Wanderers owners
As is the case with most football clubs, there have been many Wolverhampton owners throughout its existence. Naturally, the club has almost always had numerous owners and shareholders as well. As such, the origins of the club are somewhat similar to that of what we saw with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
| S No | Name | Years |
| 1 | John Baynton and John Brodie (founders) | (1877) |
| 2 | Mahmud and Mohammad Bhatti | (1982-1986) |
| 3 | Sir Jack Hayward | (1990-2007) |
| 4 | Steve Morgan | (2007-2007) |
| 5 | Fosun International | (2016- present) |
Initially, it was two pupils of St Luke’s Church School in Blakenhall, John Baynton and John Brodie, who came up with the idea of forming a football club. Upon being presented with a football by their headmaster, Baynton and Brodie decided to merge with the football section of a local cricket club called Blakenhall Wanderers, thus giving birth to the name, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Initially, the club started off with Dudley Road as their home venue between 1881 and 1888, which was the start of the inaugural season of the Football League. At the end of the first season in 1889, where the club finished third, the owners of Wolverhampton Wanderers decided that it was time to shift to the Molineux Grounds, which was a bigger venue and is still the home to the Wolves to this day.
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History of Wolverhampton Wanderer’s ownership
For the most part, information regarding the Wolverhampton owners throughout history is rather scarce. Besides the initial founders, there is very little known or recorded of the owners that followed since. As such, the period of time between 1889 and 1980 is not accounted for in this article as there is no viable source for it. That said, the years that followed have a much clearer history.
For the most part, the early 1900-1940s saw Wolves often come close to winning the league title. Often going down to the wire, the club had narrowly missed out on League triumph on numerous occasions. That said, the 1950s saw the club finally find more than just Cup success as they would win the league 3 times between 1950 and 1960. Most notably, ahead of the 1957–58 season, Wolves defeated Real Madrid 5–4 (3–2 in Wolverhampton and 2–2 in Madrid) in home and away friendlies.
The 1960s and 1970s were much more tumultuous, due to the club getting relegated a few times. Along with that, the multi-million-pound rebuilding of the Molineux Street Stand in 1979 brought the club to near financial ruin. Eventually, the club went into receivership and relegation in 1982, before being rescued by former player Derek Dougan, who brought in Mahmud and Mohammad Bhatti of Allied Properties to take over the club.
Under the new Wolverhampton Owners, the ship steadied but only until they found themselves in receivership once again in 1986. Eventually, in 1990, a lifelong Wolves fan Sir Jack Hayward decided to become the new Wolverhampton owner, purchasing the club for £2.11 million, before shelling out a further £70 million towards the redevelopment of their home stadium.
Who is the current owner of Wolverhampton Wanderers?
In 2007, Hayward parted with the club, selling control of the club to the next owner of Wolverhampton Wanders, Steve Morgan for a measly £10. Shocking as it may seem, it was actually for a token fee, which would see Morgan invest £30 million into the club. Initially, the entrepreneur had made advances to try and purchase Liverpool, however, he ended up settling with the Wolves instead.
Then in 2016, the ownership of the club once again switched hands with Morgan selling the club to Chinese conglomerate Fosun International for £30 million. However, as the businessman later revealed, he chose Fosun International only due to their promise to invest £100 million into the club. That brings us to the current owners of Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Chairman of Fosun Group, Guo Guangchang. Under Guangchang and Fosun, Wolves have certainly had a change of fortunes.
A partnership with Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes saw an influx of Portuguese talent at the Molineux. Since 2017, the club has signed 22 players from Portugal, some of whom were a big hit with the fans. This significant investment was due to Fosun International’s asset valuation of $126.5bn (£101.5bn), as reported by Forbes in 2022. Although the new Wolverhampton owner was unable to bring about a massive change in the club’s fortune it was certainly a step in the right direction.
Under the stewardship of Nuno Espirito Santo, the club even managed to reach the Europa League quarter-finals in 2019/20, having come up from the championship just a couple of seasons ago. Currently, Wolves are a mid-table side in the Premier League but arguably have the capabilities to challenge for a European position. That said, it could be said, that the work of Fosun International the new Wolverhampton owners is certainly bearing fruit.
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Q. Who bought Wolverhampton?
A. Fosun International bought Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2016 for £30 million.
Q. Is Wolverhampton owned by the Portuguese?
A. No, Wolverhampton Wanderers is owned by the Chinese Chairman of Fosun Group, Guo Guangchang.
Q. Why is Wolverhampton full of Portuguese?
A. Wolverhampton Wanderers has many Portuguese players due to its ties with agent Jorge Mendes.
Q. Who founded Wolverhampton Wanderers?
A. Wolverhampton Wanderers was founded by John Baynton and John Brodie in 1877.