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.
Finance
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.
Sala transfer: Cardiff hang on to transfer cash as Nantes claim deal was completed
April 16 – Cardiff City have submitted evidence to FIFA in their dispute with Nantes over the £15 million transfer fee for the late Emiliano Sala.
Spurs residency and Taylor Swift lift turnover – but FA hit by surging costs
By David Owen
April 14 – An eventful 2017-18 season resulted in the English Football Association lifting turnover by £24.3 million while only managing to invest an additional £919,000, compared with 2016-17 levels, back into the game.
Qatar investment vehicle rumoured to be looking at AS Roma buy
April 11 – Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the owners of French club Paris Saint-Germain, is rumoured to be in discussion over a potential acquisition of Italian club AS Roma to build a portfolio of European top clubs.
AC Milan in trouble with UEFA again over financial fair play breaches
April 10 – AC Milan face fresh sanctions for breaching Financial Fair Play rules after being referred to UEFA’s financial regulator for failing to meet the break-even requirement for the second year in a row.
€3.5bn Champions League fat cats all set for another mega-money feed
April 9 – The eight UEFA Champions League quarter finalists generated a total of generated total revenue of €3.5 billion in 2017/18. The FC Barcelona versus Manchester United will be the richest tie in the history of UEFA competition – the clubs generated a combined €1.4 billion.
Crystal Palace’s Eagles stoop to £35m loss as player trading turns red
By David Owen
April 9 – Crystal Palace, the Premier League’s penalty kings, have reported a substantial 2017-18 loss, as the cost of last season’s successful survival push under former England boss Roy Hodgson took its toll on financial performance.
Manchester City parent CFG reports another £44.8m loss
By David Owen
April 8 – City Football Group Limited (CFG), the Abu Dhabi- and Chinese-owned entity that holds investments in various football clubs including Premier League giants Manchester City, has posted a £44.8 million loss from continuing operations for the year to 30 June 2018.
Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliife, tables $100m+ bid for OGC Nice
April 8 – British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in talks to buy French Ligue 1 side via his chemicals company, Ineos. Reports are that he has already bid $100 million.