Report: Red Bull denies takeover interest in Coventry City FC

Such is the insatiable British appetite for Red Bull takeover rumors, a deleted Tweet was able to spark sufficient chatter to get the Coventry Telegraph's attention. The newspaper reported on the "mysterious Tweet" that suggested Papa Red Bull was looking at an ambitious project even by his historically ambitious standards for sporting acquisitions: a two-for-one takeover of current Ricoh Arena occupants Coventry City FC and Wasps Rugby Club.

Within hours of Simon Gilbert's first piece on the subject for the Coventry Telegraph on January 17, he had material for a second: a swift denial from Red Bull.

Buying a football club does not fit our marketing mix for 2017/18.

Red Bull must be getting a little tired of seemingly constant inquiries from the British press about rumored takeover targets in the UK, so perhaps the spokesperson who issued that statement should be forgiven for not simply directing the Coventry Telegraph to a recent interview Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz gave to Salzburger Nachrichten.

In that discussion, Papa Red Bull himself appeared to slap down any possibility at all of RB Global Soccer adding an English club to its portfolio. His response to SN's question about persistent rumors linking Red Bull to English club football was emphatic:

Nothing at all. This is not even coffee. It would even be an extraordinary stupidity to think of any addition to England after the successful engagement in Leipzig. That would be sporty wrong. Mixing everything together would not even meet the UEFA guidelines.

He didn't mention rugby, of course. Nor did Red Bull's denial to the Coventry Telegraph.

A deleted Tweet isn't the strongest evidence of a Red Bull plan to get into a brand new sport, but it doesn't take much at all to get the rumor mill excited about possible new RB investments. Welcome to the Red Bull rumor rollercoaster, Wasps - hope you enjoy the ride.