Soccer Football - Championship Play Off Semi Final Second Leg - Aston Villa v Middlesbrough - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - May 15, 2018 Aston Villa's John Terry celebrates after the match Action Images via Reuters/Ed Sykes
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Chinese-owned Aston Villa hope to join Malaysian-controlled Cardiff City and Chinese-backed Wolverhampton Wanderers in winning promotion to the Premier League as Asian investors reap the rewards of investments in English second-tier clubs.
Midlands club Villa face west London side Fulham, owned by Pakistani-American Shahid Khan, in Saturday's Championship promotion playoff final at Wembley in what has been dubbed the most lucrative match in world football.
