The Rock AKA Dwayne Johnson buys XFL from Vince McMahon for £11.5m amid WWE boss’ financial struggles

DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON has bought the XFL from Vince McMahon in an £11.5million deal.

The WWE chief owned the American football league which he relaunched this year but then went into financial chaos amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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It was first set up in 2001 but folded after just one year and then McMahon reportedly injected £153m to get it going again in 2020.

However, after just five weeks of the new season, the XFL was in ruin because of Covid-19 and McMahon filed for bankruptcy in April.

But with the league set to go for auction, Johnson joined with ex-wife Dany Garcia and investment firm RedBird Capital to purchase the franchise.

The Rock, who won a national title playing American football at the University of Miami in 1991 before following his father into wrestling, tweeted: "With my trail blazing partner @DanyGarciaCo & Red Bird Capital, we have acquired the XFL.

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"With gratitude & passion I’ve built a career with my own two hands and will apply these callouses to our @xfl2020 brand. Excited to create something special for the fans!"

He also said: "The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans.

"With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football."

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Dany Garcia added: "For Dwayne, Gerry and myself, this property represents an incredible opportunity. It is the confluence of great passion, tradition and possibility.

"Sports and entertainment are the foundations of the businesses I have built.

"Melding our expertise combined with our commitment to deliver exciting and inspiring unique content, has us all focused on developing the XFL brand into a multi-media experience that our athletes, partners and fans will proudly embrace and love."

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