Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson could be heading to English football club if takeover bid involving Ray Winstone is accepted
DWAYNE “The Rock” Johnson is in line to become involved with an English football club if a takeover bid involving Ray Winstone is accepted, reports suggest.
The wrestler-turned-Hollywood powerhouse has become a household name all over the world, with starring roles in a number of hit movies as well as his iconic career in the WWE.
However, the Black Adam star, 51 – who was Instagram’s highest-earning celebrity last year – may now be set to cast an eye towards English football.
It comes amid a takeover bid for National League side Southend United involving fellow Hollywood star Winstone, as reported by The Athletic.
Winstone’s involvement comes from a bidder for the Shrimpers, Kristofer Tremaine, who is on the board of Integral Sports Management, an agency co-founded by Winstone and ex-broker Gary Pettit in 2019.
Tremaine is the chief executive of Kimura Capital and alongside chief financial officer Simon Jackson, is heading a bid to buy Southend from Ron Martin.
If this bid is successful, it could see Sexy Beast star Winstone, 66, join the club’s board.
Martin has been the majority owner of Southend for 25 years, but put the club up for sale in March before narrowly avoiding liquidation after settling a £2million tax bill.
However, a winding-up petition followed shortly after, with Martin now needing to find a further £275,000 before July 12 or let someone else settle the bill.
Amid the takeover talk, the Southend Echo report Kimura Capital have made contact with Johnson’s production company, Seven Bucks Production.
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The firm is said to be interested in producing a documentary on the club should the takeover go through.
It comes after National League champions Wrexham were brought by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny, bringing publicity to the club with their “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary.
Southend, who finished eighth in the fifth tier this season – narrowly missing the play-offs – have confirmed interest from three parties.
A club statement read: “Following recent speculation surrounding the sale of the Club, we can confirm that Non Disclosure Agreements with three interested parties and Heads of Terms have been issued.
“However, at this time, none of the interested parties have been granted a period of exclusivity.”
New owners of the club will take on a new stadium project which Martin has been trying to fulfil for the duration of his tenure.
Planning permission for a 21,000-seater stadium was granted in 2020 before financial issues forced the plan to be revised.
Final approval for a 16,000-capacity ground has not been granted yet.