Leaked contract shows Manuela Fundación tried to buy Mitchelton-Scott for €7 million

A leaked contract shines a light on the supposed deal for the Manuel Fundación to take over WorldTour outfit Mitchelton-Scott in June 2020, an episode that caused much confusion across the cycling world.

Revealed to Spanish newspaper Marca, the deal allegedly valued Mitchelton-Scott, now called Team BikeExchange, at €6,980,000, with the Manuela Fundación planning to become the main sponsor and "100%" owner. 

The deal stated the entire Mitchelton-Scott structure would be transferred from the Australian team's owner, Gerry Ryan, to the Granada-based organisation, with the team's kit and vehicles bearing their colours and name until at least the end of the year. The deal seemed done but the Manuela Fundación had not purchased the UCI licence that was still owned by Ryan, allowing him to pull out of the deal at the last minute, and even after the team had gone public with the news.

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Marca claims the breakdown of this deal alerted other WorldTour outfits to Manuela Fundación's supposedly deep pockets, the newspaper printing a photo of Francis Huertas, the organisation's signatory on the leaked deal, at a restauarant in the Costa del Sol with Deceuninck - Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere a few months after the Mitchelton-Scott deal fell through. Huertas was apparently trying to negotiate a price tag of €8 million for the Belgian team.

While that conversation evidently amounted to nothing, the Manuela Fundación has instead opted to start from the bottom, acquiring a UCI Continental licence to race next year.

At the time of the original announcement of Manuela Fundación's involvement with Mitchelton-Scott, a press release from the team said the deal was a "long-term" agreement, calling it "welcome news" during the difficult economic environment caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

BikeExchange have also recently called an end to talks with Premier Tech, according to Cycling News, the Canadian company that sponsored Astana this season.

The company was apparently willing to invest €5 million but wanted a 50 per cent stake in return, which Gerry Ryan was seemingly unhappy to agree to.