How Como became a Champions League team: Unique model, ownership power, Cesc Fabregas lead impressive rise

On Thursday the Italian team will make their official debut in the major European competition Sep 10, 2026 at 10:20 am ET • 7 min read It's a special week in Italy as Como, one of the most interesting soccer projects around Europe, make their official debut in the UEFA Champions League league phase, hosting RB Leipzig at the Stadio Sinigaglia in Como. This is a different story: It's not like some random Italian team qualifying for the first time in Europe after a successful season. Como are building the foundations to remain a long-term presence on the European soccer stage, backed by solid ownership, a visionary project led by president Mirwan Suwarso, and a team shaped by former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who is widely considered one of the best emerging managers around Europe. There is a much more recent example that explains well the nature of this project. Ahead of their opening Champions League match against RB Leipzig, the president of the club, Suwarso, announced he and several directors will give up their tickets for the club's Champions League debut to allow elderly supporters to attend: "With the reduced capacity and the limited number of tickets available, unfortunately we cannot accommodate everyone who would have liked to be there. However, some club executives and I have decided to give up our seats for this match. We want those seats to be allocated to supporters who have waited the longest - fans born in 1950 or earlier, who have followed Como through every division and every era. We will be honored to give up our seat for them", he wrote in a statement. But, apart from this self-explanatory example, how is the Como project different from the others? Como's ownership Como are owned by the Djarum Group, an Indonesian conglomerate founded by brothers Robert Budi Hartono and Michael Bambang Hartono, who bought the club back in 2019 with their London-based company, SENT Entertainment. Michael Hartono passed away earlier this year and the brothers had a combined net worth of approximately $48 billion, according to Forbes, and the club is run by Mirwan Suwarso, who represents the ownership at the club. Since acquiring the club, Como were able to be promoted to the Italian Serie A in less than five years, before qualifying for the Champions League in their second year after being promoted. A special milestone for a club that invested millions over the years to bring new players and start the project to renovate the Sinigaglia stadium ahead of their Champions League debut. To make it happen, Como have to deal with some issues like most of the Italian clubs but have a totally different approach compared to the usual ones, also called the 'Disney' model. How to watch Como vs. RB Leipzig, odds Date: Thursday, Sept. 10 | Time: 3 p.m. ETLocation: Stadio Sinigaglia -- Como Live stream: Paramount+Odds: Como -134; Draw +308; RB Leipzig +322What is the Disney model? Como is a unique corner of Italy, located less than an hour from Milan. Over the years, Lake Como has become one of the country's most sought-after destinations, attracting tourists, celebrities and high-profile figures from around the world. George Clooney bought a home in the area years ago, while Jose Mourinho lived there during his time coaching Inter, with the club's training ground located just a short distance away. Since the beginning of Como's new ownership era, the club has also attracted a growing number of Hollywood stars to the Sinigaglia, with Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Adrien Brody, Hugh Grant and Andrew Garfield are among those who have attended matches; former soccer players and Formula 1 drivers were also spotted in the stands. It's good for Como, but it's not about the Disney model. Como president Suwarso, speaking to the BBC, explained well his idea of the business model. "Como is a very small town. How can a team which only has a stadium of 12,000 sustain a competitive soccer team? We have to actually grow other areas for revenue, from hospitality and merchandising to retail, moving away from reliance on TV rights." But, what is the Disney model Como is trying to replicate? "We'd like to build a brand like Disney. Disney is just a metaphor," he explains, where "the lake is like the theme park, that's where you come in contact with our products and our brand. We have the merchandising division. Disney sells licensing like the Mickey Mouse brand. So we have a fashion division, retail division with a number of brands sitting in there. Some are about the football club. A majority of it is about the lifestyle of the lake or what we call 'lago lifestyle' that also has appealed to celebrities."This is happening also because the best season to visit the lake is in the summer, when Como are not actually playing games and there is no Serie A soccer. This is why the 'Disney' model is a smart idea to make the brand of the soccer club becoming bigger, beyond the sport. This is why the Hartono brothers decided to invest in the club, because it's not just about the sport, even if things are going so well. The coach: Cesc Fabregas Then, there is the sport itself and here Como are doing great as well. Both Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry are part of the project as minority stakeholders, and Fabregas decided to end his soccer career here after spending years playing for iconic clubs such as Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea. During the 2022-23 season, the World Cup-winning former Spain international moved to Italy and played for Como in his last season before retiring from professional soccer. After he retired, he became the manager of the under-23 team, a few months before taking the job of the first team. In his first season at Como as caretaker manager, he earned Serie A promotion, and in his first full season in charge, he ended up in 10th place in the standings with the newly promoted team. In his second full season, he was able to qualify for the Champions League after ending up in fourth place last season. Obviously, he already attracted the interest of multiple European clubs and Inter in particular tried to appoint him in the summer of 2025 after parting ways with Simone Inzaghi. Both Suwarso and Fabregas decided to go on together, knowing that there was much more to come in the future. They were right. However, the president knows Fabregas will go away one day, but what he's doing will last, as he said speaking to La Repubblica ahead of the Champions League debut: "Barcelona existed without Cruyff, Milan without Sacchi, Inter without Herrera. Who stays at a club forever? Only Ferguson came close. Cesc has built for the club, not for himself, and his imprint will remain forever. But the day will come when he leaves, and when that happens, he will have to help us identify his successor, because otherwise the methods and the players he has brought here would go to waste." How Como kept Nico Paz Over the past few years, Como have made a series of major signings, investing hundreds of millions of euros to bring some of the best talents from around the world to the club. The latest one was Italian striker Moise Kean, who joined from Fiorentina for around $45 million and will lead the attack this season in both Serie A and Champions League. But there is a much better example to explain the role this club is having across Europe: The one of Nico Paz, who signed for Como in 2024 for the first time from Real Madrid, as the two clubs agreed on a permanent deal worth $6 million but Real Madrid kept control of the Argentinian player. How so? The Blancos had a 50% sell-on clause in case Paz ended up at another club and in case another club inquired about him, they could have matched the final offer. Additionally, and most importantly, they had the right to re-sign Paz for the upcoming three summer sessions for reasonable fees.In the summer of 2025, Tottenham approached Como and offered around €70 million to sign the player; Real Madrid and Como agreed together to refuse the offer and turned it down. In the summer of 2026, Paz, one of the best talents in the league, was meant to leave Como and rejoin Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho. But he wanted to stay; he wanted to continue playing for Como and make his Champions League debut with them. After some talks, Como agreed to sign him permanently for around €60 million, while Real Madrid will be able to re-sign the player in the summer of 2027 for €80 million. This is what makes Como a special club. They might have different ideas off the pitch, a different approach during transfer negotiations but they are quickly becoming one of the most respected clubs around Europe and they are meant to stay at the top of Italian and European soccer for a long time. This is just the beginning.