Rocco Commisso claimed that the offer to purchase the Cosmos was intended to “eliminate the organization as a competitor.” (Photo courtesy of the Cosmos)
Rocco Commisso says that Soccer United Marketing offered to buy the Cosmos for $5 million last year — with certain stipulations.
In Commisso’s declaration in the North American Soccer League’s reply to U.S. Soccer’s response to its lawsuit, the Cosmos owner and chairman of the board of governors included an email from New York City FC president Jon Patricof, who presented an offer from SUM to the soccer team.
In late 2016, the Cosmos were close to going out of business due to severe debt before Commisso rescued the team in January.
According to the email, the proposal required the Cosmos and the team’s owners not to own or operate a soccer team in the metro New York area under any name for 10 years.
In his declaration, Commisso claimed that the offer to purchase the Cosmos was intended to “eliminate the organization as a competitor.”
SUM has ties to Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer.
The NASL has filed for a preliminary injunction to keep the league at Division II status and has filed an anti-trust against U.S. Soccer.
A hearing is scheduled before U.S. District Court Judge Margo K. Brodie in Brooklyn, N.Y. Oct. 31.
