December 5 – Completion of the sale of Serie A side AC Milan by Silvio Berlusconi to the Chinese investors now looks certain not to be completed on December 13, and could be pushed back to the end of February 2017 as the Chinese investors wait for government authorisation for the release of their money.
By Paul Nicholson
November 30 – German giants Bayern Munich join Barcelona, Manchester Untied and Real Madrid as the fourth club to break the €600 million revenue mark. Reporting revenues of €626.8 million for the 2015-16 season, the Bavarians added more than €100 million to their previous revenue figure of €523.7 million.
November 30 – The sale of AC Milan by Silvio Berlusconi to Chinese investors looks increasingly certain to take longer than the December 13 completion deadline. Berlusconi is now saying that he would be prepared to allow a 6-week extension, for a further non-refundable down-payment.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 29 – The findings of the biggest global survey to date of working conditions in men’s professional football has thrown up a raft of startling conclusions, destroying the myth that most players live in a protective bubble, drive fast cars and lead enviable millionaire lifestyles.
November 24 – AC Milan’s long awaited sale to new Chinese investors is now scheduled to complete December 13, but there seem to be some doubts on whether the sale will complete following remarks made by owner Silvio Berlusconi.
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
November 18 – The full scale of the pressure on Jose Mourinho to succeed in his first season at Manchester United has been underlined by the revelation that the club will lose more than £20 million in sponsorship income from Adidas if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League. But the club says it is still on course to hit record revenue of between £530 million and £540 million for the full year.
November 17 – As this weekend’s Milan derby approaches with both clubs now in the hands of Chinese investors, officials are questioning the authenticity of one of the deals.
By Paul Nicholson
November 15 – Dieter Hahn (pictured), the controversial and secretive boss of German media corporation Constantin Media and a key figure behind the scenes in the alleged cash for votes scandal around the Germany 2006 World Cup bid, has engineered a stunning boardroom coup that leaves him in control of Constantin which is to restructure as a sports only business.
By Paul Nicholson
November 9 – The polarisation of financial power around Scotland’s two big clubs, Celtic and Rangers, was emphasised again with Aberdeen reporting a record £13.4 million turnover, up £337,000 from last year.
November 8 – A Spanish judge has re-opened the case against Brazilian star Neymar and his father to stand trial on fraud charges relating to his 2013 move to Barcelona from Santos.
November 8 – The crisis at Inter Milan, one of Europe’s most iconic clubs, has gone from bad to worse with chief executive Michael Bolingbroke resigning and following sacked coach Frank de Boer out of the club.
By Paul Nicholson
November 3 – Saints could soon be marching in to a Chinese tune. The Premier League club are in exclusive negotiation with Lander Sports Development Co. of China though there seems to be some readjustment over valuation of the club.
November 3 – Forever cash-strapped Nigerian football could have a solution to its problems if rumours that a group of UK investors are ready to invest $1.5 billion into the Nigeria Professional Football League are true.
November 2 – The Hull City takeover saga continues with front-runner Greater China Professional Services Limited (GCPSL)holding a press conference in Hong Kong outlining their plans for the club, but saying that although they are currently undertaking due diligence they do not have an exclusivity agreement with the club but a memorandum of understanding.
By Paul Nicholson
November 2 – UEFA shared an eye-opening €1.345 billion between 42 clubs last season, an increase of €315 million on the previous season. Top of the table of high earning clubs were semi-final losers Manchester City (€83.8 million), Real Madrid CF (€80 million), Juventus (€76.2 million) and Paris Saint-Germain (€70.8 million).