He recalled to the Daily Mail: "Brian Clough, John Robertson, Stuart Pearce, Roy Keane, Trevor Francis, the European Cups, I know the history.
"For me, having owned the biggest team in Greece, if I invested in England I wanted to invest in an equally big team.
"A team that has big crowds and a big supporter base. But also I've always liked Forest.
"When I first came to the UK when I was 15 years old, I always remember it was the time Liverpool and Forest were doing extremely well. I don't see it as money, or a transaction. For me it is our duty to revive our history."
Marinakis also said: "I think what we have done, and what people don't realise, is the selection of players, in majority, that we have signed in the last two or three years - are young, extremely talented players.
"Murillo, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga, Danilo, Neco Williams, Taiwo Awoniyi, Nicolas Dominguez, Ibrahim Sangare, Andrew Omobamidele. We also signed Nelson Abbey for Olympiakos.
"They are all young, talented players that have great value. They will ensure the club assets go higher and higher. The reality is this was a wise decision, a clever decision and we see the benefits."