Moneyball man Billy Beane to buy into Barnsley

'MONEYBALL' baseball executive Billy Beane is reportedly joining a consortium including Chinese businessman Chien Lee and American investor Paul Conway to acquire Barnsley.

The consortium will pay £20m for a 98.5 percent stake in the club from current owner Patrick Cryne, who is terminally ill and said to fans he was “living on borrowed time” in a poignant letter in the match programme earlier this week.

Lee, who is majority shareholder at French top tier club Nice, will become the majority shareholder of the Reds if the deals goes through.

American businessman Conway is also a director at Nice.

Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane is set to buy into Barnsley Football Club

Beane, a former American baseball player portrayed by U.S. actor Brad Pitt in the hit movie “Moneyball”, will reportedly take a 10 percent stake in the club.

Beane is a minority owner of U.S. baseball team Oakland Athletics.

He has previous experience of working in football, having been hired by Dutch club AZ Alkmaar as an adviser.

Lee and Conway have previously been interested in Middlesbrough and Hull.

The deal, which could be completed as soon as the end of this month, has been brokered by Alexander Jarvis and Blackbridge, a company which has advised on a number of foreign investments in English football.