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With the European Championships due to start in Germany on Friday, UTA has netted the country’s biggest soccer agency.
The Beverly Hills-based company has bought Representatives Of Outstanding Footballers (ROOF), which will sit within its sports portfolio. ROOF represents English Premier Leagues players such as Liverpool captain Virgil Van Dijk, Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and recent Champions League finalist Niclas Füllkrug, who is among numerous Bundesliga stars on its books.
In total, ROOF has around 150 clients across Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France) and is especially strong in the Bundesliga, where it is the market leader. Around 130 are players with the other 20 coaches and managers.
The company has offices in Munich, London and Madrid, and will continue to operate under its own name and founding leadership team, who will become shareholders in UTA as they look to expand the brand further internationally.
Another element of the deal is that UTA plans to integrate ROOF with Klutch Sports Group, the Rich Paul-led agency sports agency it backs, to “reimagine the landscape of representation for a new generation of top football stars.” As such, ROOF co-founder and Managing Director Björn Bezemer has been named Head of Klutch Global Football. There will also be a focus on women’s sports, with Klutch already representing the likes of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and JuJu Watkins.
Klutch has led UTA’s sports portfolio since 2019 and will work with ROOF to increase the cultural relevance and credibility of the latter’s brand. According to UTA, Klutch has negotiated more than $4B in contracts on behalf of clients such as LeBron James and Odell Beckham Jr.
“We could not be more energized by this opportunity to work with KLUTCH and UTA,” said ROOF Co-Founder and Managing Director Björn Bezemer. “This exciting partnership gives us access to industry-leading resources and expertise to better serve our clients and broaden our reach globally. With ROOF partners becoming shareholders in one of the most transformational agencies in global sports and entertainment, we are excited to bring our industry-leading football representation to this team.”
“Football is the most global and popular sport on the planet, and in charting our path into the game, we’ve searched for a partner who aligns with KLUTCH’s values and takes a similar client-first approach,” added Co-Head of UTA Sports and Klutch founder and CEO Rich Paul. “It was clear very early on that ROOF was the perfect fit; our agencies share the same philosophy, passion and professional approach to representing the world’s best athletes. Together we look forward to bringing new energy to the beautiful game and its athletes through the lens of empowerment, storytelling and forward thinking.”
UTA’s Chief Operating Officer and Co-Head of UTA Sports, Andrew Thau, said that “with Klutch already the gold standard, and now ROOF and the other growing areas of our sports enterprise, we are poised to build out a best-in-class business unlike anything else in our industry.”
For UTA, the move is its latest in Europe, where it already owns UK literary and talent agency Curtis Brown. Last year, it opened a major office in London. Announcement of this new acquisition has been very fortunately timed just ahead of the UEFA European Championships, which is Europe’s biggest international soccer competition. Host nation Germany is among the favorites, along with the likes of England, France and Spain. The tournament kicks off on Friday with Germany playing Scotland at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on Friday (June 14).