Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
All characters reduced
The Trillion Dollar Conman - The Astonishing True Story of the Most Audacious Fraud in Sport - cover

The Trillion Dollar Conman - The Astonishing True Story of the Most Audacious Fraud in Sport

Ben Robinson

Publisher: Icon Books

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

Based on the hit BBC 5Live podcast series, The Trillion Dollar Conman is an audacious tale of an international fraud that is stranger than fiction.

In 2009, Notts County FC were on the brink of bankruptcy when they were taken over by a mysterious company supposedly backed by the Bahraini royal family. The club was promised millions of pounds worth of investment and a list of marquee players, including Sol Campbell and Kasper Schmeichel were signed, in a recruitment drive led by former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, who was appointed to take the club all the way to the Premier League.

However, within weeks, as the bills began to pile up, the dream came tumbling down as it transpired that the club, the players and the fans had been tricked by a convicted fraudster called Russell King.

The world's oldest professional football club found itself at the centre of one of the most outlandish frauds in sporting and world history, which spanned the globe from Nottingham to North Korea, involving fake sheikhs, fast cars, broken promises and a trail of destruction.
Available since: 10/24/2024.
Print length: 288 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • The Elements of Effort - Reflections on the Art and Science of Running - cover

    The Elements of Effort -...

    John Jerome

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    In this engaging collection of essays, author and athlete John Jerome celebrates the simplicity and freedom of running. With contagious passion, he strips away fads and myths to offer basic guidelines for participants, from beginning joggers to those preparing for marathons. 
      
    For years Jerome recorded his thoughts and experiences during his daily training. As he ran, he discovered not only physical benefits, but philosophical ones as well. His wry reflections take you on a joyous journey through the most elemental aspects of the sport—stretching, falling, sweat, bugs, the food police, and more. 
     
    A fount of prescriptions and wisdom, The Elements of Effort offers a disarming collection of ideas to mull over as you participate in your daily run. 
    Show book
  • Ultimate Football Heroes: Doué (Top Ballers) - Collect them all! - cover

    Ultimate Football Heroes: Doué...

    Matt & Tom Oldfield, Ultimate...

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    FROM THE NO.1 FOOTBALL SERIES - OVER 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD!Introducing the TOP BALLERS collection. Perfect for reluctant readers and all fans of the beautiful game.Name: Désiré DouéNationality: FrenchHero Rating: 90Doué began his football journey in the Rennes youth academy at the age of five, going on to sign his first professional contract with the club at the age of 16. Three years later, he signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain where he helped them earn a continental treble which included the club's first UEFA Champions League title. It was here where his performances earned him the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award, the Champions League's Young Player of the Season, and the Golden Boy. Then came the Premier League in 2026, where he earned the Champions League trophy with his club Paris Saint-Germain F.C.! All eyes were then on him as he stepped onto the global stage as he represented France in the World Cup 2026.From his incredibly pace, agility and passing abilities, Doué has already made his mark on the world of football and is showing no signs of slowing down. Discover how this incredible attacking midfielder from Angers, France became a football legend.Collect them all! Also available in the TOP BALLERS range:Messi, Pelé, Yamal, Neymar, Maradona, De Bruyne, Griezmann, Foden, Firmino, Coutinho and Pogba.
    Show book
  • Rory Land - The Up-and-Down World of Golf's Global Icon - cover

    Rory Land - The Up-and-Down...

    Timothy M. Gay

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Timothy M. Gay writes that four-time major champion Rory McIlroy is "golf's ageless Opie Taylor," a superstar whose charm transcends national boundaries and enlivens the game. His swing is so powerful that Tiger Woods is teaching his own son to mimic Rory's action. 
     
     
     
    But a charismatic persona and a pretty swing don't translate into winning championships. Rory has failed to win another major and fallen short of achieving the career Grand Slam. 
     
     
     
    He's become a lightning rod, getting into a smackdown at the '23 Ryder Cup and, after his betrayal by PGA Tour brass, causing confusion by going from an impassioned opponent of a deal with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf to an outspoken proponent. 
     
     
     
    McIlroy is from Northern Ireland, a geopolitical anomaly where religion and patriotism have been used as bloody cudgels. Both sides of his family were battered by the North's sectarian Troubles. 
     
     
     
    Rory is a man essentially without a country, which might explain why he's become so obsessed with the Ryder Cup. Gay argues that McIlroy has invented his own fiefdom, which the author has dubbed "RORY LAND." 
     
     
     
    Rory Land tells the saga of a compassionate superstar living in a world where "money has no conscience."
    Show book
  • The Coyote at the Door - True stories of sudden wildlife attacks in Pennsylvania where humans least expect them - cover

    The Coyote at the Door - True...

    Jeffrey Rittenhouse

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    The Coyote at the Door: True Stories of Sudden Wildlife Attacks in Pennsylvania  Where Humans Least Expect Them 
    The wild isn’t always deep in the mountains. Sometimes—it’s standing right outside your door. 
    In The Coyote at the Door, real people share their terrifying, unforgettable encounters with one of North America’s most adaptable predators. Set in quiet suburbs, rural backyards, neighborhood parks, and wooded walking trails, these are true stories of sudden wildlife attacks that shattered the illusion of safety and brought the wilderness crashing into everyday life. 
    From a nurse mauled behind her workplace in rural Pennsylvania… 
    To a father who fought off a rabid coyote to protect his young daughters… 
    To children attacked in their own front yards . 
    To hikers, joggers, and dog walkers ambushed in places they thought were safe… 
    These gripping narratives reveal what happens when instincts collide, when fear takes over, and when ordinary people are forced to confront  Coyotes, Bears, Deer and Bobcats.
    Show book
  • Racing with Rich Energy - How a Rogue Sponsor Took Formula One for a Ride - cover

    Racing with Rich Energy - How a...

    Elizabeth Blackstock, Alanis King

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    Formula One has long maintained a glitzy aura that masks dark and strange goings-on in the background. But with the 2019 season came a force louder than Formula One could dream of muffling: William Storey, the founder of British energy drink startup Rich Energy. 
     
     
     
    Storey became a multimillion-dollar sponsor of the Haas Formula One team a year after records showed Rich Energy having a mere $770 in the bank. He equated his doubters to moon-landing truthers and publicly mocked both the Haas team and the entities winning legal disputes against him. But where were actual cans of Rich Energy, and did the supposed sponsorship funds exist? 
     
     
     
    In the six months between Storey's first race as a Formula One sponsor and his very public exit, he stole the spotlight with a loud mouth and an active Twitter account. Haas team boss Guenther Steiner once described the Rich Energy news cycle as: "I'm getting sick of answering these stupid fucking questions on a race weekend. I've never seen any fucking thing like this." No one else had, either. This book uncovers the complete, bizarre story.
    Show book
  • Other Ways to Win - A competitive cyclist's reflections on success - cover

    Other Ways to Win - A...

    Lee Craigie

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0
    WINNER: Vikki Orvice Women’s Sports Writing Award, Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards
     
    ‘I rode back down the hill to the athlete’s village. Some of Team Scotland had been watching on the big screen and I arrived to hugs of congratulations. I went inside for a shower and ceremoniously dropped my heart rate monitor into the bin. It was the first day of the rest of my life.’
     
    A little before 1.30 p.m. on Sunday 21 July 2013, Lee Craigie crossed the finish line at Cathkin Braes in the southern outskirts of Glasgow several minutes ahead of her nearest competitor to become the British cross-country mountain bike champion. Lee’s win was the culmination of seven years of training and sacrifice, but it marked the beginning of the end of her competitive career; less than a year later, at the same venue, this time representing her native Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, she crossed the line and quit professional bike racing for good.
     
    Lee Craigie is one of Scotland’s great bike racers, yet she has accomplished much more since retiring. In Other Ways to Win she tells her story of growing up near Glasgow and discovering the freedom of cycling – skipping French lessons and heading off into the Campsie Fells to see just how far she could ride. These teenage adventures established cycling as the thread which would run through her life – not only through her racing life and into a new life of two-wheeled adventure, but also through the positive impact she would have on the lives of others, particularly encouraging other women through her work with the Adventure Syndicate. Written with breathtaking honesty, she recounts epic adventures along the Tour Divide, Silk Road and the Highland Trail 550, and examines themes of friendship, loss, identity and the power of the outdoors – and of course cycling.
     
    Lee's story is a welcome reminder that there is more than one way to win at cycling – and life.
    Show book