January 26 – The full extent of the financial crisis at Barcelona, one of the biggest brands in world football, have been laid bare by staggering claims that the club is on the verge of bankruptcy.
By Paul Nicholson
January 25 – NFL team San Francisco 49ers have bumped up their stake in Premier League Leeds United from 15% to 37% in a deal that reportedly values the club at £250-280 million.
By David Owen
January 26 – Revenues at Europe’s Top 20 clubs were down 12% in 2019-20 as covid began to disrupt the industry, according to the latest Football Money League produced by Deloitte, the professional services firm.
January 25 – Alexander Knaster, an Anglo-American tycoon of Russian origin, has acquired a 75% stake in Italian Serie B side Pisa Sporting Club.
January 21 – Egypt’s Mansour Group have acquired a majority stake in Right To Dream, the company behind Danish top flight club FC Nordsjaelland.
By Paul Nicholson
January 19 – Transfers fees in 2020 dropped 23.4% compared to 2019, a reduction of $1.743 billion in money spent. That is a figure 10% below the value of transfers reported in 2017.
January 19 – Serie A’s AC Milan has become the latest club commit to blockchain driven cryptocurrency fan tokens, saying that it will launch the $ACM Fan Token on Socios.com in the coming weeks.
January 18 – In a case dating back to the 2015-2016 season, the French Football Federation (FFF) has been ordered to pay Ligue 1 Reims €4.78 million by a local court over a relegation debacle that occurred in 2015-16.
January 15 – Italy’s Inter Milan may have new owners in a matter of months. Suning Holdings has reportedly opened talks with venture capital partners over selling its stake.
By David Owen
January 13 – Southampton, the south coast club enjoying a strong season under Austrian manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, have become the latest Premier League side to report a big loss for the covid-impacted 2019-20 financial year.
January 13 – The sale of MLS side Real Salt Lake has been taken over by the league itself after current owner after owner Dell Loy Hansen failed to complete a deal by a January 8 deadline.
By Paul Nicholson
January 12 – City Football Group, owner of 12 clubs including Premier League Manchester City, has expanded its network and deal-making strategy with the addition of Bolivia’s Club Bolivar as its first ‘Partner Club’.
By Paul Nicholson
January 11 – The scale of Covid’s decimation of the football industry’s revenue infrastructure is highlighted again in KPMG Football Benchmark’s annual review of Europe’s champion clubs.
By David Owen
January 8 – Arsenal, the North London club who have perked up recently under Mikel Arteta while remaining in the lower half of the Premier League table, are taking out a £120 million government loan to help them to navigate their way through the covid crisis.
January 8 – Cypriot top flight club Apollon FC are giving their fans the opportunity to vote on the club’s Puma kit for the 2021/22 season. Earlier this season the club gave the fans the chance to select the starting 11 for a friendly against Aris Limassol.