The Football Capital Tracker · Event date: 3 November 2026 · Event type: Fund raise · Last updated: 4 November 2026
What happened
Apollo Global Management reported its third-quarter 2026 results on 3 November. Total assets under management were about $1.07tn at 30 September ($1,074bn), with $53bn of inflows in the quarter and $270bn over the last twelve months. Origination was a record $114bn for the quarter. A footnote to the AUM table lists Apollo Sports Capital at $7bn, within the “Other” line. This is the first time the size of the sports vehicle has appeared in Apollo’s filed results (Apollo Q3 2026 earnings release, SEC Form 8-K).
The headline numbers diverge. Fee-related earnings were $802m and adjusted net income $1,293m ($2.07 a share), but the GAAP result was a net loss of $1,057m attributable to common stockholders ($1.78 a share). The release says nothing about individual clubs, so the $7bn is a measure of capacity, not a disclosure of new football deployment.
Football exposure
- Atlético de Madrid: Apollo Sports Capital has been the majority owner since March 2026.
- Wrexham: Apollo Sports Capital took a minority stake in December 2025.
- Nottingham Forest: Apollo’s first Premier League private credit deal was an £80m loan in 2025 (Private Equity Wire).
- Mubadala Capital: Apollo agreed a minority stake on 26 October (tracker entry).
Why it matters
Until now, the capital behind Apollo’s club equity could only be estimated from press reporting. Apollo’s own filing now puts it at $7bn. That is less than 1% of group AUM, but larger than most football ownership groups. The figure also answers one of the open questions in our 3 November entry on European Credit Company: sport sits in its own dedicated pool, separate from the €10bn ECC lending platform. Boards and regulators should read the two together. Apollo now runs a sports equity vehicle, a European credit platform and a Premier League lending relationship side by side, and the conflicts between those roles are a matter for disclosure, not assumption.
Open questions
- How much of the $7bn is deployed, and how much of it is in football rather than other sports?
- Is the figure third-party fund capital, balance-sheet capital from Athene, or both?
- Will Apollo Sports Capital provide credit as well as equity to clubs, and if so, on whose side of any conflict with ECC?
Read the full analysis
The Analysis Series: Apollo’s minority stake in Mubadala Capital
Back to The Football Capital Tracker.
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