Kevin Garnett buying shares of Italy's AS Roma soccer team

December 30, 2011|By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff

By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff

Celtics star Kevin Garnett will be announced as an investor in AS Roma, the Italian Serie A soccer club recently purchased by a US group that includes owners Thomas DiBenedetto (Red Sox) and James Pallotta (Celtics).

Garnett will hold a minor stake in Roma LLC, which is quoted on the Milan Borsa, pending approval by the NBA. Garnett’s investment will be similar to the one made by Miami’s LeBron James with Liverpool FC, according to a club source.

The Boston-based ownership group — NEEP Holding (which stands for their North End, Everett, and Peabody bases) is hoping to elevate Roma, which last won the Serie A scudetto in 2001, by increasing its global popularity and seeking to move the team out of the Stadio Olimpico to a new stadium.

Garnett is a knowledgeable soccer fan, close with prominent international players such as Didier Drogba of Chelsea, and plays the game as part of his off-season conditioning program.