By David Owen
January 4 – Massive gains on player transfers helped Chelsea, the West London club controlled by Roman Abramovich, to run up a record profit for the year ending 30 June 2018. The club said that the after-tax figure reached £62 million. This was after a profit on player sales of £113 million.
January 2 – No sooner has the January transfer window opened than cash-rich Chelsea are the first to strike, landing Borussia Dortmund forward Christian Pulisic for €64 million though loaning him back to the German club until the end of the season.
January 2 – Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has taken control of Spanish lower-league club FC Andorra for an undisclosed sum.
December 21 – Jadon Sancho, Kylian Mbappé and Raheem Sterling head al list of players whose market value increased most in the past four months, according to data from KPMG Football Benchmark.
December 21 – The Chinese FA has slapped a comprehensive set of financial controls on its Super League and professional clubs covering money that can be spent owners on their teams, player salaries and even player bonuses for winning competitions.
December 21 – A US investor has taken a controlling stake in Scottish Championship side Dundee United in a deal estimated to be worth £1 million.
December 19 – Europe’s major leagues have called on UEFA to alter their revenue distribution policy to bring about a more level playing field and prevent the gap between the haves and the have-nots from widening.
December 14 – As if their misfortunes on the field weren’t enough after being eliminated from the Europa League, AC Milan have been slapped with a massive €12 million fine by UEFA and threatened with a one-season ban from European competition for breaking financial fair play rules.
By David Owen
December 13 – Brighton and Hove Albion, the south-coast club who have adapted well to life in the Premier League since their promotion in 2017, have announced a profit for the first time in their recent history.
December 13 – The fractious relationship between Premier League club West Ham and their London Stadium landlords appears to have reached a break in hostilities with the club agreeing to pay about £450,000 extra per season to use London Stadium if the capacity is raised to 66,000 from the current 57,000.
December 12 – The chances of Mike Ashley exiting Newcastle United before the January transfer window opens and Peter Kenyon re-entering Premier League club football are looking slimmer.
December 12 – As Spanish football manages an international transition from the individual appeal of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the KPMG Football Benchmark team has taken a look at the impact this could have on LaLiga’s business.
December 11 – Breakthrough Dortmund and England winger Jadon Sancho has increased his transfer value by more €78 million in the past three months, a bump of more than 800% since the start of the season. Any buyer would now have to pay almost €88 million to sign him.
December 10 – Two days after PSG issued a statement saying it would be selling neither Neymar or Kylian Mbappé to avoid any potential financial fair play sanctions, the Qatar National Bank (QNB) has announced star striker Neymar as its Global Brand Ambassador.
December 6 – The seemingly annual Christmas talk of the sale of Premier League Newcastle United is now in full swing with former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon leading discussions in the US to create a consortium of buyers who will put up the £300 million needed to buy the club from Mike Ashley.