Benfica’s €500m academy sales business tops world ranking
January 12 – The latest report from the CIES football observatory has ranked Liga Portugal side Benfica as the club with the most profitable academy in world football.
Finance
Transfer talk: Real Madrid’s fantasy team build, Dier lands in Munich, Gallagher to cross London
January 11 – Real Madrid are reportedly assessing the prospect of making a move for Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland, 23, because of concerns over whether France forward Kylian Mbappe, 25, will leave Paris St-Germain to join them.
Transfer talk: Henderson wants out of Saudi, Sancho wants out of Man Utd, does Mbappe know what he wants?
January 10 – Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been strongly linked with a move to Ajax in the latest twist in the Englishman’s transfer saga as he looks for an escape from Saudi Arabia just six months after joining ex-teammate Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq.
Transfer talk: Everton stars heading for exit, Man Utd hunt for a striker to make a big entrance
January 9 – Real Madrid are reportedly keeping tabs on Everton and England U-21 defender Jarrad Branthwaite after impressing in his debut year in the Premier League. The 21-year-old has seen his Transfermarkt value more than triple since the start of the year and seems destined for an England call up in the near future.
The Real deal: Is Mbappe finally headed for Madrid?
January 8 – In what could be a decisive twist in the Kylian Mbappe transfer saga, French reports suggest the coveted striker has after all agreed to join Real Madrid when his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires this summer.
Portland Thorns sells for record $63m to Raj Sports
January 5 – NWSL club Portland Thorns have been sold for $63 million, a record for the acquisition of a women’s club.
Player valuations boom. Will Bellingham be the first €300m player
January 4 – Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is the most valuable player in world football at €267.5 million according to the latest report by the CIES Football Observatory. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland ranks second at €251.2 million and Vinicius rounding out the top three.
Levski Sofia agree three-year deal to repay debt owed to Bulgarian state
June 4 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia have successfully concluded negotiations with the country’s National Revenue Agency (NRA) to reschedule debt owed to the state over the next three years.
777 Partners-owned Standard Liège post losses of €20m+
January 3 – Belgian club Standard Liège have posted more than €20 million in losses for the 2022-23 season, bringing further damages to its finances and threatening the club’s future.
Ratcliffe and Ineos complete £1.03bn Man Utd buy-in and take control of operations
December 29 – The long-awaited sale of 25% of Manchester United to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group for £1.03 billion has been completed.
Former Sheffield Utd wannabe Dozy Mmobuosi wakes up to billion dollar SEC fraud complaint
By Paul Nicholson
December 21 – The Nigerian businessman who was the preferred bidder for Sheffield United as they journeyed to England’s Premier League is facing multiple fraud charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for billions of dollars of fictitious transactions.
Aston Villa owners take in new money from Atairos for expansion of V Sports
December 15 – Premier League Aston Villa’s holding company, V Sports, has secured an investment from east coast US private equity firm Atairos.
Agents bank a record $881m in 2023 as court rulings give them protection from FIFA fee regulation
December 15 – Player agents fees reached a record $881.million in 2023, a massive 42.5% increase in the $623.2 million paid to agents in 2022. The previous record for agents fees was set in 2019 ($654.7 million).
Premier League aligns with UEFA rules and cuts transfer fee amortisation to five years
December 13 – Premier League clubs have voted to limit to five years the period over which a player’s transfer fee can be spread in their accounts, hitting teams like Chelsea who have controversially been signing a number of players on staggering long deals, amortising the cost of the transfer over the whole period.
Bundesliga clubs greenlight €1bn private equity money raise for commercial rights
December 12 – Germany’s Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs have greenlighted a proposal to raise an estimated €1 billion in private equity investment in return for a 20-year share in their commercial rights.