Blackburn Rovers have been warned about selling the club to a foreign owner.
Professor Tom Cannon, from Liverpool University, is quick to insist there can be exceptions but believes football's recent history of foreign ownership does not make for good reading.
He told the Lancashire Telegraph: "It is the same situation facing any Premier League club outside the top half. It is an incredibly high risk lottery looking at foreign buyers.
"The reality is if you look beyond the few, the risks are enormous for anyone considering buying a Premier League club or even a Football League club.
"Everyone at Portsmouth kept saying they were about to be transformed into the best thing in the world but it never worked that way.
"Although we get very excited about what has happened at Chelsea and Manchester City, City haven't actually won anything yet.
"You look at the other foreign owners and their track record is not that good.
"Look at Liverpool, Sunderland, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Portsmouth. All these guys have talked long and delivered short.
"When you compare clubs now with clubs prior to their foreign ownership in terms of performance on the field, with the exception of Chelsea and possibly Manchester City, most you would find are in debit."
