Crystal Palace deny takeover talks with Shinawatra, but new money is an option
May 15 – Crystal Palace have said that they are not in negotiation on a £150 million takeover deal involving former Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra.
Finance
Serie A’s relegation-threatened Genoa put up for sale
May 15 – Genoa, Italy’s oldest professional football club which even has the word cricket in its official name, will be put up for sale, the Serie A outfit said in a statement.
Man City face enforced Champions League exit over alleged FFP breaches
By Andrew Warshaw
May 14 – Amid the euphoria of retaining their Premier League title, Manchester City have been brought crashing down to earth with reports that they could be banned from the Champions league – the trophy they crave more than any.
Financial finagling forces FIGC to condemn Palermo to Serie C
May 14 – Palermo have been relegated to Serie C by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) because of financial irregularities, a decision that crushes their hopes of securing promotion to Italy’s top division.
LaLiga unveils record combined revenues of €4.4bn
May 10 – LaLiga’s aggressive international expansion and the smart player trading of its clubs has seen combined club revenues hit a record €4.479 billion for the 2017/18 season, a growth of 20.6% over the previous year.
Big money buy: Sancho tops U20 transfer value shopping list at €150m
May 7 – As the Summer transfer window creeps closer to opening and big clubs prepare for their close season shopping, a ranking of Big 5 league U20 players by value has been released with England and Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho (pictured) top of that list.
Sport sponsorship spend to hit £49bn in 2024 but rightsholders are missing out
May 3 – Football clubs and sports generally are missing out on £14 billion of sponsorship money annually, according to an analysis by sports marketing agency Two Circles.
Second best: Man Utd’s value drops below Man City for first time; Spurs above Liverpool
By Paul Nicholson
May 1 – Manchester United may have generated £90 million more in revenue than Manchester City in the 2017/18 financial year (£590 million vs £500 million), but City have overtaken their red rivals and are currently worth almost £275 million more as a club.
MBS thwarted as Glazers refuse to sell Man Utd to Saudi Crown Prince
May 1 – Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is no longer considering a £3.8b billion takeover of Manchester United according to British press reports.
Sunderland boss paid £1.9m as club plummets and losses mount
April 30 – Former Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain received more than £1 million in compensation last year even though the Scot oversaw two consecutive relegations during his tenure and enacted huge cost-cutting at the club, according to Sunderland’s financial accounts.
Player wages spiral as Premier League clubs battle to maintain profitability
April 25 – In the 2017-18 season English Premier League football clubs’ revenues reached a new high, but that was offset in the pre-tax profits by increased spending on player wages, according to a report by Deloitte.
Spurs and Liverpool set new standards in second-best season for Premier League profits
By David Owen
April 23 – The 2017-18 season will go down as the one in which not one but two Premier League teams – Liverpool and then Tottenham Hotspur – set world records for football club profitability. Yet overall, this was only the second-best season ever in profit terms for the 20 clubs who competed in English football’s top flight.
Sigurdsson sale not enough to prevent dive into loss for relegated Swansea
By David Owen
April 22 – Swansea City have reported a pre-tax loss of £3.2 million for the year to 31 July 2018, the club’s relegation season.
Newcastle repay £33m of debt to owner Ashley
By David Owen
April 19 – Newcastle United, the north-east club seemingly assured now of retaining its place in the Premier League for at least one more season, has repaid £33 million of the debt owed to owner Mike Ashley (pictured).
Valencia sell land to enable new Mestalla build to restart
April 18 – Spanish club Valencia will restart their efforts to complete the construction of their new stadium after they accepted a $128 million offer for the Mestalla stadium plot from local co-operative ADU Mediterráneo.