In March 2024, Angel City FC’s board had reportedly agreed to sell its controlling stake. And the latest discourse on Angel City, the most valuable NWSL team, is that Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay are close to purchasing the club’s controlling stake. Now, Angel City’s controlling stakeholder Alexis Ohanian has broken his silence regarding the numerous speculations on his club. Ohanian did not hesitate to say that the reports around his club’s sale are “false.”

Ever since word got out that the Disney CEO is eyeing Angel City’s controlling stake, reporters seem to have relentlessly tried to get Alexis Ohanian’s word on the same. Here is how Ohanian responded. “For all the reporters who keep reaching out: when I bought the franchise to launch @weareangelcity in 2019, I didn’t set up board control for myself. (One of many hard lessons I learned as a first-time sports team owner). But as I’ve said from jump, I’m not selling any shares in the team–dunno why I keep seeing false reports,” Alexis Ohanian wrote on X.

Alexis Ohanian is Angel City’s founding owner. He is also the club’s largest shareholder. However, the Reddit founder does not have absolute control over the club’s board. Meanwhile, the club’s primary owners, Natalie Portman, Kara Nortman, Julie Urhman, and Ohanian, were okay to sell the club’s controlling stake in March. It is perhaps because of this plan to sell that the rumored Disney takeover of Angel City became the talk of the town. Though Ohanian has dismissed those reports, let us explore what will change in Angel City, if the rumored Disney takeover ever materializes.

More about Disney’s rumored takeover of Angel City

Semafor reported that Bob Iger and Bay Willow are planning to invest more than $50 million to buy the LA-based club’s controlling stake. This means Alexis Ohanian would no longer be the club’s controlling stakeholder. The Semafor report also added that the Bay-Iger group laid out its plans for Angel City FC. They reportedly plan to accelerate the team and the league’s growth, prioritize Angel City as a prime brand in women’s sports, and deliver profits, among others. Notably, Bob Iger and Bay Willow were also spotted during Angel City’s recent loss to the Orlando Pride on Sunday.

Anyhow, now that Serena Williams’ partner Ohanian has deemed these speculations false, the Disney takeover would perhaps die down as a rumor. However, it still stands that the club’s primary owners gave the blessing for a stake sale in March. Therefore, it remains to be seen if the ball will come back to the Disney group’s court once again. As of now, Angel City is the NWSL’s most valuable club with a valuation of $250 million.