November 2 – Being the poor relation doesn’t necessarily mean poverty. UEFA’s 56 Europa League clubs shared €411.1 million in payments for the last season of competition. Although a far cry from the €1.345 billion shared by the 42 Champions League clubs, it was a whopping €240 million increase on the 2014/15 season.
By Paul Nicholson
October 30 – Internazionale have announced a jump in revenue for 2015-16 of almost €43 million, despite having no involvement in European competition and in particular the lucrative Champions League participation and prize monies, a core target for the new Chinese owners.
In September it was reported that Javier Tebas, showman President of La Liga, had given conditional support to the notion of a breakaway European Super league. Well, to judge by his bravura performance at Sportel Monaco last week, the newly-re-elected Spaniard has undergone an evolution in his thinking.
By Samindra Kunti
October 31 – The Dutch FA, the KNVB, has reported a profit of €6.8 million for the 2015/16 season. The KNVB also revealed that registered members of the governing body had jumped to 1,227157, the highest level in its history.
By Paul Nicholson
October 28 – The accepted football wisdom is that if you throw big money at buying your playing squad then you will win. The reality of this rule of thumb is different and as a rule is challenged by a Football Benchmark analysis that examines the average net player trading activity, between the 2011-12 and 2014-15 seasons, of top European football clubs.
October 27 – The English Football Association is planning to invest £260 million as part of a scheme to improve grassroots football throughout the country.
October 25 – An English Premier league club is under investigation over allegations of supplying false financial documentation.
October 21 – The sale of Premier League Hull City now appears to be a race between three different parties, two of them from China and a third group believed to be predominantly European money.
October 21 – KPMG Football Benchmark has launched a new iteration of its football business data platform.
October 20 – The protracted sale of English Premier League club Hull City to a Chinese consortium looks to have moved closer to fruition in a potential deal worth £130 million.
By David Owen
October 19 – A best-ever Champions League run has propelled Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City to a near doubling of annual profits. The club, which plays Barcelona tonight, spiritual home of new manager Pep Guardiola, has reported pre-tax profits of £19.6 million for the year to May 31, up from £10.2 million in 2014-15.
By Samindra Kunti
October 19 – FC Barcelona and Brazil star Neymar will put pen to paper on the new five-year deal he agreed with his club in the summer this week. The deal will tie the Brazilian to Barcelona until 2021.
October 18 – American businessman Frank McCourt is the latest entrepreneur from across the pond to take over a big-name European club, completing his acquisition of France’s Olympique Marseilles.
October 17 – Birmingham City, one of the first clubs to be acquired by a Chinese investor before Chinese ownership became a fashion in Europe, has formally completed the transfer of shares to a new Chinese owner, Trillion Trophy Asia (TTA), controlled by Paul Suen.
By Paul Nicholson
October 12 – The number of players and football executives revealed as falling foul of UK revenue and customs authorities in the UK for investing in tax avoidance film funds is likely to be as high as several hundred, threatening bankruptcy for some and financial hardship for many others. It is a scandal made in the City of London but acted out in clubs across the country and not just in the Premier League.