Wilfried Zaha has teamed up with British rapper Stormzy to take control of AFC Croydon Athletic.
The pair, who were both raised in Croydon, are part of a three-person consortium with ex-Crystal Palace kit man Danny Young to buy the ninth-tier outfit.
Young, who later became the Eagles’ Head of Player Care, joined Zaha on his stag do over the weekend.
Having departed Selhurst Park after ten years, he has now agreed to take over the English minnows alongside soon-to-be free agents, Zaha and Stormzy.
The club confirmed the news on Tuesday morning, where they stated the takeover is subject to FA and league approval.
A statement from the Rams on Twitter read: “A three-person consortium comprised of Wilfried Zaha, Stormzy, and Danny Young has exchanged contracts with the existing ownership of AFC Croydon Athletic to acquire the assets of the club.
“The consortium will own, operate and develop their childhood hometown football club.
“Whilst completion is subject to legislative and governance procedures, the three consortium members are excited about developing a community asset in the borough that gave them their own opportunities.
“They hope to take the entire community on this exciting journey with them.
“There will be more updates to come from the consortium in due course on completion of the transaction. In the meantime, there will be no further comment.”
📣 📣 CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT 📣📣
We are delighted to embark on a new era at AFC Croydon Athletic, subject to final FA and league approval. This has been the culmination of many months of discussions.
Further details to follow in due course. pic.twitter.com/zruFM751nf
— Croydon Athletic (@AFCCroydonAth) June 27, 2023
AFC Croydon Athletic currently competes in the Combined Counties League Premier South Division.
They finished the previous season in 15th spot having lost 22 out of their 38 matches.
While Zaha’s business venture is in England, his professional career could be outside of the United Kingdom as he approaches the end of his Palace contract.
talkSPORT reported last month how Zaha had been offered a new deal worth £200,000-a-week to stay on in south London.
Though he could earn more money should he choose to make the move to the Middle East with clubs in Saudi Arabia keen.
Zaha has also been touted as a possible replacement for Messi at Paris Saint-Germain after the forward run his contract down before agreeing to link up with Inter Miami.
