Red Bull Exec Says Company Has No Plans To Take Over EPL Side West Ham

Red Bull "is not interested in buying" EPL side West Ham, the company's global head of football, Oliver Mintzlaff, told German publication kicker, according to Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN.com. In December, it was reported that the Austrian energy drink and marketing company was considering a £200M ($248M) offer for the club. Mintzlaff said that there are "currently no plans to expand Red Bull's football brand" beyond Austria, Germany and the U.S., the three locations where it currently has clubs. He said, "I should really know about this in my function [as global head of football] because I'd be actively involved in it. But I am not involved. Thus, I can completely rule it out. We continue to focus on our investments at our current clubs." Those investments "have been successful so far," especially in Germany where Red Bull's Leipzig branch has "taken the league by storm" (ESPN.com, 1/5).