Como Football Club: History, Ownership, and Serie A Rise

Lake Como is famous for its villas, its cinematic scenery, and its celebrity residents. But tucked between the tourist hot spots and the alpine water sits one of Italian football’s most improbable comeback stories. Como 1907 spent 21 years away from Serie A, nearly collapsed entirely, and is now back in Italy’s top flight with billionaires behind it and Thierry Henry on its shareholder board. The club’s trajectory reads like a script treatment for a sports film: bankruptcy, reinvention, celebrity investment, and a relentless push toward relevance.

Full name: Como 1907 · Founded: 1907 (refounded 2005) · Current league: Serie A (2024–25) · Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia · Majority owner: SENT Entertainment (Hartono family) · Notable minority shareholder: Thierry Henry

This table consolidates the essential facts about Como 1907 that appear repeatedly throughout the article.

What did Como FC used to be called?

The club that now operates as Como 1907 began life under a different name entirely. Formally established as Como Football Club in May 1907, the club went through several naming phases as it navigated changing ownership, financial pressures, and competitive realities throughout the 20th century. The original founding name reflected the early British influence on Italian football, when many clubs adopted English-language designations.

Original founding name and rebrandings

Como Football Club played its first competitive match in 1906 and formally organized as a club the following year. Over the decades, the club competed under names that reflected corporate sponsors and administrative realities, but the identity remained rooted in the city of Como. The club was also known historically as Como Calcio during periods when Italian football required formal registration under different corporate structures.

The defining transformation came in the mid-2000s. After suffering relegations that culminated in bankruptcy, the original entity was dissolved. From that collapse, a new club emerged: Como 1907. The choice of “1907” was deliberate — a conscious nod to the founding year, claiming continuity with the original club despite the legal break. This rebranding served both sentimental and practical purposes, signaling both heritage and a fresh start.

Bankruptcy and refoundation in 2005

The bankruptcy of the original Como Football Club was the result of years of financial mismanagement and declining sporting results. After competing in Serie A as recently as the 2002–03 season, the club suffered three consecutive relegations that stripped away revenue, prestige, and finally solvency. The old entity was declared bankrupt, and a new organization was formed in 2005 to continue football in the city.

Following refoundation, Como found itself in the lower amateur divisions. By the 2018–19 season, the club was competing in Serie D — Italy’s fourth tier — a far cry from the top-flight ambitions of earlier decades. It was from this nadir that the club began its ascent under new ownership.

What this trajectory reveals is how a club can shed its entire legal structure while retaining enough historical identity to frame a comeback as continuity rather than replacement.

Is Thierry Henry the owner of Como?

This is one of the most persistent misconceptions about Como 1907. The answer is straightforward: no. Thierry Henry is not the owner of Como 1907. He holds a minority stake as a shareholder, a role that was officially announced by the club in 2022. The confusion stems from his global fame and his visible presence at the club, which can create an impression of control that does not match the facts.

Henry’s role: minority shareholder and board member

Thierry Henry became a shareholder in Como 1907 in 2022, joining what the club described as “the latest global superstar to join Como 1907” (Como 1907 official announcement). Henry himself confirmed the arrangement in the club’s official statement: “It’s my great pleasure to announce that I will be joining Como 1907 as a shareholder.” His role is that of an investor and ambassador, not head coach or controlling owner.

Henry, born 17 August 1977, brings name recognition, football expertise, and connections from a career that includes France’s record international goal tally of 51 goals and a reputation as one of the finest forwards of his generation (Encyclopaedia Britannica profile). His involvement aligns with the club’s strategy of attaching high-profile football personalities to its project.

It is worth noting that Cesc Fàbregas followed a similar path. He joined Como in the summer of 2022 as a player and simultaneously became a minority shareholder (CBS Sports report on Fàbregas and Henry). Fàbregas later took on a coaching role, serving as caretaker manager in November 2023 despite not yet holding a UEFA coaching licence. Both figures represent the celebrity layer of a ownership structure fundamentally controlled by the Hartono family.

The implication for readers expecting Henry to call the shots is that the ownership chart tells a different story: global stars in supporting roles, Indonesian billionaires in the driver’s seat.

SENT Entertainment ownership structure

The controlling entity behind Como 1907 is SENT Entertainment, a vehicle controlled by the Hartono family of Indonesia. The family — brothers Robert Budi Hartono and Michael (Mihael) Hartono — made their fortune through Djarum, one of Indonesia’s largest clove cigarette manufacturers. Their entry into European football came in 2019 when the Djarum Group, through SENT Entertainment, acquired Como 1907.

This makes Como unusual among foreign-owned Serie A clubs, most of which are owned by American or Canadian investment groups. The Hartono brothers represent an Indonesian outlier in a market increasingly dominated by transatlantic capital. Their wealth places them at the top of Forbes rankings for Serie A club owners, though the distinction between personal net worth and actual capital invested in the club is an important one.

The pattern here shows how non-traditional ownership origins — in this case, Indonesian tobacco wealth — can reshape the geography of elite European football ownership.

Why is Como FC so rich?

The source of Como’s financial firepower is the Hartono family. Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Hartono control SENT Entertainment, the entity that owns Como 1907. Their wealth derives from Djarum, an Indonesian conglomerate with interests in banking, property, and consumer goods beyond its flagship clove cigarette business. Forbes estimates their combined net worth at approximately US$45 billion, a figure that dwarfs the personal wealth of any other Serie A club owner (OneFootball wealth ranking).

The Hartono brothers’ wealth is not just theoretical — it translates into concrete financial capacity for Como 1907. In a Forbes-based ranking of the richest owners in Italian football, the Hartono brothers’ estimated US$45 billion places them well above figures like Silvio Berlusconi (Monza, approximately US$7.1 billion) and comfortably ahead of other Serie A controlling families.

Billionaire backing from the Hartono family

In a Forbes-based ranking of the richest owners in Italian football, the Hartono brothers’ estimated US$45 billion places them well above figures like Silvio Berlusconi (Monza, approximately US$7.1 billion) and comfortably ahead of other Serie A controlling families (OneFootball (citing Forbes)). This personal wealth gives the club borrowing capacity and financial credibility that most newly promoted teams lack.

Influx of investment after promotion to Serie A

The club’s promotion to Serie A in 2024, ending a 21-year absence from Italy’s top flight, triggered an immediate increase in transfer market activity. After promotion, Como began spending heavily on recruitment, assembling a squad designed to compete in Serie A rather than merely survive. The squad’s market value, according to Transfermarkt, stands at approximately €100.55 million — placing Como mid-table by squad value despite having the wealthiest individual owners in the league (Transfermarkt Serie A market values).

Luxury branding and global marketing strategy

Beyond player transfers, the club has adopted a broader strategy aligned with its owners’ apparent ambition to position Como 1907 as a lifestyle brand. CEO Dennis Wise — the former Chelsea and England midfielder who became the club’s chief executive after the 2019 takeover — has been vocal about this dimension. CBS Sports quotes Wise expressing the ambition that “people now know it’s not just a lake” and that “in time they will know Como is also a football club, not only a glamorous holiday destination.”

Wise has also joked that Como is “not just a place where George Clooney goes,” inverting the tourism association that dominates the Lake Como brand. The strategy appears to leverage the region’s luxury appeal — its villas, its climate, its celebrity residents — as a platform for building global fan interest and attracting commercial partners beyond what a mid-sized Italian club would normally secure.

Is Como the richest club in Italy?

This is where precision matters. Como is not the richest club in Italy — not by revenue, not by squad value, and not by commercial income. Juventus remains Italy’s dominant financial force. Inter Milan and AC Milan have larger broadcasting deals and more established commercial operations. What makes Como distinctive is the personal wealth of its owners, not the club’s own financial performance.

Comparative wealth: Juventus, Inter, Milan still ahead

Football Benchmark’s analysis of Serie A club valuations shows that Dan Friedkin of AS Roma has invested the largest absolute amount in a Serie A club, even as the Hartono brothers hold a larger personal net worth. Juventus, controlled by the Agnelli/Elkann family, operates with annual revenues that dwarf anything Como currently generates. The gap between personal wealth and club revenue is substantial.

In terms of squad market value, Transfermarkt’s Serie A data places Como around mid-table with its approximately €100.55 million squad value. Compare this to Inter or Juventus, whose squads are valued at multiples of that figure. The disparity is a reminder that ownership wealth and club strength are not synonymous, particularly in a league with rich traditions of financial parity and collective broadcasting deals that distribute revenue more evenly than in some other European leagues.

Financial resources vs. squad spending

The Hartono family’s wealth gives Como a financial cushion that most newly promoted clubs lack. They can absorb losses, invest in infrastructure, and pursue players with salaries that exceed what typical Serie B clubs can offer. But financial resource does not automatically translate into sporting success. The club must build a competitive squad, retain key players, and navigate Serie A’s tactical and physical demands after years in lower divisions.

The comparison worth making is between potential and performance. Como has the financial muscle to make bold moves. Whether those moves produce a sustainable Serie A presence will depend on football decisions — recruitment, coaching, development — as much as on capital. For context: the club’s record under Cesc Fàbregas in the 2023–24 Serie B season showed 15 wins, 6 draws, and 4 losses in 25 matches, a strong record that contributed directly to promotion (CBS Sports match report). The question is whether that momentum transfers to the top tier.

What this means for Serie A rivals is that Como arrives as a competitor with deep pockets and a global profile — but without the institutional infrastructure that Juventus, Inter, and Milan have built over decades.

What football team is in Lake Como?

For visitors unfamiliar with Italian football geography, the question of “what football team is in Lake Como” has a straightforward answer: Como 1907. The club is based in the city of Como, which sits on the southern tip of Lake Como in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The city’s most recognizable landmark — the lake itself — creates a powerful association that the club is actively trying to leverage and, in some respects, transcend.

Como 1907 is the primary professional club

Como 1907 is the only professional football club based in Como city. The club’s home stadium, Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, is located close to the lakefront, placing matches within walking distance of the waterfront promenade that draws tourists from around the world (Como 1907 official site). This proximity to one of Italy’s most photographed natural landmarks is part of what makes the club’s brand strategy distinctive.

The club’s identity as a Lake Como institution gives it a built-in association with luxury, tourism, and international lifestyle appeal. For a club seeking global fans beyond Italy, the Lake Como brand carries connotations of exclusivity and aspiration that align with the Hartono family’s apparent vision for the club. CBS Sports describes Como’s journey from bankruptcy to Serie A under new ownership as “captivating” — a narrative the club actively promotes.

Other local amateur teams

Below the professional level, Como city and the surrounding region host various amateur and semi-professional clubs, as is common throughout Italy. These clubs serve local communities and operate at the grassroots level of Italian football. However, none operate at a level comparable to Como 1907, which now represents the city in Serie A — Italy’s top division.

For Lake Como’s tourism industry, the club’s rise adds a new dimension to the region’s brand — one that transforms a celebrity retreat into a football destination with billionaire backing.

The stakes for Como 1907 are straightforward: the club has the financial backing to compete at Serie A levels, the celebrity shareholders to attract global attention, and the geography of Lake Como to build a luxury brand that extends beyond football. What remains to be seen is whether the sporting project — recruitment, coaching, youth development — can match the ambition of its ownership. For Serie A rivals, the arrival of billionaire-backed Como means one more competitor with deep pockets and a global profile. For Lake Como’s tourism industry, the club’s rise adds a new dimension to the region’s brand. And for the Hartono family, Como represents one of the most visible experiments in using football as a vehicle for international prestige and commercial expansion.

Frequently asked questions

For investors and football fans watching Italian football, the Como 1907 project raises a specific question: can billionaire ownership, celebrity backing, and luxury branding translate into genuine sporting competitiveness in one of Europe’s toughest leagues? Serie A’s established powers — Juventus, Inter, AC Milan — have decades of infrastructure, commercial networks, and sporting identity. Como has money, momentum, and a story. Whether that combination produces a sustainable top-flight club or becomes a cautionary tale about capital without foundations remains to be written on the pitch.