Arik Shtilman criticizes the Recanati family: "They have no money"
Rapyd founder Arik Shtilman continues his public campaign regarding control of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club. He claims the Recanati family has lacked significant capital since the 90s and reveals an email from Udi Recanati explicitly stating he had no intention of investing in the team.
In a long interview on the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball fan podcast, Arik Shtilman detailed his vision for the future of the team, continued his attack against the Recanati family and their control over the Sport Channel, and revealed that Udi Recanati had no desire to invest, stating, "It is not worth it for me."
The founder and CEO of Rapyd, the club's main sponsor, who has also contested the Recanati family over share purchases and team ownership, laid out his position on the "Maccabipod" podcast this past Sunday. According to Shtilman, the Recanatis purchased shares in Maccabi Tel Aviv only one month after acquiring the Sport Channel, and their primary goal is to maintain the value of that channel rather than investing in the club.
Shtilman further claims that the family lacks the capital for such investments:
"People in Israel still live in the Recanati narrative that they are something big. The 80s were a long time ago. This is a family that has had no business since the late 90s, and if you look up their businesses, you will see they were not that successful."
He cited an email from Udi Recanati as evidence of their lack of interest in the team:
"It was said to me explicitly in an email from Udi Recanati, who wrote: 'I do not want to invest because there are no games in Israel and it is not worth it for me.'"
