Miguel Ángel Gil Marín in “secret meeting” with American businessman to negotiate Atlético sale

Atlético Madrid CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín appears to be taking the next steps in selling the stake he’s held in the club since 2004.

Voz Pópuli has reported on a “secret meeting” that took place Thursday at the Cívitas Metropolitano. It included Gil, Atlético financial director Mario Aragón Santurde, and Polish-American businessman Maciek Kaminski (as well as a Kaminski associate).

Kaminski — whose net worth is estimated at $1 billion — is said to be contemplating purchasing the club and coming in as its main shareholder. Gil and president Enrique Cerezo combined their shares (roughly 66 percent) into Atlético HoldCo in 2021, and Israeli business magnate Idan Ofer owns the remaining shares, though his level of day-to-day involvement is limited.

According to the report, “strong sources” said this first meeting went well. But Mundo Deportivo reported on Friday that club sources have strongly denied any negotiations are underway, and insisted that no formal meeting actually took place.

Who is Maciek Kaminski?

Minnesota-based Kaminski is the founder and president of the Kaminski Asset Management firm, which manages a portfolio of investment funds worth billions of dollars. Kaminski has been in the news recently owing to his efforts to purchase a major stake in Premier League club Everton through his KAM Sports organization, which was set up earlier this year and has already purchased Greek Super League club Panetolikos.

Everton’s sale seemed close in September, but negotiations have dragged on. Reports varying on just how large a stake current owner Farhad Moshiri wants to sell, and now it seems Kaminski has turned his attention to Spain and Atlético, where the longtime CEO is actively trying to cash out and move on.

Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images

Photo By Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images

In September, Voz Pópuli reported that Gil had approached international banks to find potential new investors that he believes are needed to revitalize Atlético. At the club’s annual holiday dinner earlier this week, the 59-year-old said change is needed after a decade-plus of success.

“We need to take collective success personally and commit to the same project,” he said. “Fifteen years ago, we drew up a plan, and we completed it successfully thanks to everyone’s effort and commitment. Now the time has come to kick off a new plan, and we are going to do it as a bigger and better club (than we were before). But we will have to apply the same recipe that led us to this success: humility, dedication, passion, and commitment.”

Another reason Gil is open to a sale is that work on his longtime pet project, the Atlético de Madrid “Sports City,” is set to commence soon on the barren land surrounding the Metropolitano. The project is expected to cost at least €200 million and is slated to include a mini-stadium that can accommodate 6,000 spectators, a training center with six fields, and even a hotel (in addition to an artificial beach on the property). The sports city is expected to open within the next three years, and in order to see out the work, Gil may elect to remain in charge until the figurative ribbon is cut.