MSP Sports Capital prepares $3.75 billion bid for ‘not-for-sale’ Spurs
February 16 – Tottenham Hotspur’s board has indicted that it is not for sale and its owners are committed to their long-term plans for the Premier League club.
Finance
FIFA posts $7.6bn record revenue for 2019-22 cycle and promises $11bn bonanza for 2023-26
By Paul Nicholson
February 15 – FIFA has reported record‑breaking revenue $7.6 billion for the 2019‑2022 cycle and is forecasting a massive revenue increase of $4.560 million to a total of $11,000 million for the 2023-2026 cycle which culminates in the expanded 48 team World Cup hosted in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Aston Villa owners V Sports expand club portfolio with minority stake in Portugal’s Vitória SC
February 15 – Aston Villa’s owners V Sports are set to buy a 46% stake in Portuguese club Vitória Sport Clube.
Qatari investor group poised to enter bidding for Man Utd by end of week
February 14 – A bid for Manchester United by Qatari investors is expected to be made by the end of this week as they look to buy the club in its entirety.
Comment: Forget Chelsea, Man City and Juve. Think ESG to tap into ethically-driven finance
By Luis Garcia Alvarez
In recent years, one of the most prominent trends in the investment management industry has been the explosive growth of socially responsible funds, also known as ESG funds: ‘Environmental, Social, and Governance.’ These investors have taken different perspectives, whether excluding certain industries from their portfolios, or favouring companies with better ratings according to these responsible investment criteria or those that have recently improved the most in this regard.
Sheffield United bidder Mmobuosi has unpaid court judgements against him in UK
By Paul Nicholson
February 13 – Sheffield United’s proposed billionaire buyer Dozy Mmobuosi has outstanding County Court judgments against him in the UK for £30,109 for failure to pay his rent on a property in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Belgian top tier club Gent look to private equity for new money
February 13 – Belgian club KAA Gent have been put up for sale and could become the latest to end up in foreign ownership.
Another loss for Spurs, as Levy welcomes coming FFP changes.
By David Owen
February 13 – Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club whose local rivals Arsenal have surged to the top of the Premier League table, have posted a third consecutive annual loss.
UEFA report shows revenues edging up but Ceferin warns of spiralling wage inflation
February 10 – In a benchmarking report, a review of the European football finance landscape, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has warned clubs against ever-growing players wages which risk “compromising their economic sustainability”.
Belgian clubs report record losses of €156m for 2022
February 10 – Belgian football presented record losses for the financial year 2022, with the 25 professional clubs collectively losing €156 million, confirming the trend of the last few seasons.
English clubs dominate red-ink ranking of transfer dealing over past 5 years
February 9 – Manchester City may be facing more than 100 charges of breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules, but from 2018 to now the club has been the model sensible dealing in the transfer markets compared to their Premier League competitors.
Matt Scott: The end for the City of Gold?
February 9 – Analysing the Premier League’s case against Manchester City
“Croesus; man is entirely chance, and nobody knows what the gods may bring tomorrow.” Herodotus, The Histories
Brazil’s proposed Liga Forte secures €879m buy-in from venture capitalists
February 8 – The 26 clubs of the Liga Forte (LFF), one of two groups seeking to redesign Brazilian football, have reportedly closed an investment agreement with domestic venture capital group Life Capital Partners and US investment group Serengeti Asset Management, worth R$4.85bn (€879.6 million).
Qatari investors line up massive bid for Man Utd, reports
February 8 – Qatari investors are planning to make a massive bid to buy Manchester United in the coming days that will blow rival suitors out of the water, according to newspaper reports citing unnamed sources.
Matt Scott: Man City’s FFP-friendly accounts could take football down a rabbit hole
In December 2014 Insideworldfootball columnist Matt Scott wrote the column re-published here. It was somewhat prophetic and shed light on a deep fear facing football at the time. Man City later survived UEFA’s financial interrogation and sanctions following an appeal to CAS. Matt will file a new column on the Premier League charges against the club later this week. Meanwhile the ‘what goes around comes around’ epithet springs to mind. And for Man City it looks to have come around again.