The fund is targeted at regional investors looking for exposure to alternative asset classes and has been provided with initial capital of $20m by Emirates NBD.

It aims to make a return by investing in young players and then profiting from their future transfers between clubs.

“In the current economic climate clubs need assistance to help finance buying new players, and for investors it is an opportunity non-correlated to traditional assets,” says Deon Vernooy, head of asset management at Emirates Investment Services, the Emirates NBD subsidiary which is structuring the fund.

The fund, called the Hero Global Football Fund, will also take a 30 per cent stake in a Spanish football academy run by former England player and coach Glenn Hoddle, and aims to generate returns of more than 10 per cent.