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.
Finance
Player agents cash in on Premier League with £260m in fees, Liverpool pay most
By Andrew Warshaw
April 5 – Amid the constant debate over the role of agents, new figures reveal that Premier League clubs paid out an eye-watering £260 million to them during 2018-19 – an increase of £49 million on the previous 12 months.
Analysis: Spurs show the well-balanced way to record-breaking profit – but mind the debt
By David Owen
The newly-published Spurs accounts make fascinating reading. Given the world record profit for a football club of almost £139 million at the pre-tax level, this scarcely needs to be said. But there is more to it than that. In one word, you could call it balance.
Hype Capital launches $75m innovation fund with Reebok and VfB Stuffgart old boys
April 5 – Digitally driven sports innovators have another tech fund to tap for development finance. Hype Sports Innovation has unveiled plans for a $75 million capital fund with Uli Becker, ex-president of Reebok and Bernd Wahler, former president of VfB Stuttgart.
Spurs smash Liverpool’s record with £139m profit
By David Owen
April 4 – Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club who played their first match at their gleaming new stadium on Wednesday, have announced a world record annual profit for a football club of £138.9 million for the year to end-June 2018, smashing the £125.1 million figure unveiled by Liverpool in February.
Real Madrid unveil €525m Santiago Bernabeu refurb
April 4 – Real Madrid have unveiled plans for a refurbished €525 million Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with club president Florentino Perez vowing the renovation will create the best stadium in the world.
Michael Keane helps ‘best of the rest’ Burnley to impressive £45m profit
By David Owen
April 4 – Burnley, the team from the Lancashire mill town, have reported an impressive pre-tax profit of £45.1 million for the 2017-18 season when the Clarets qualified for Europe for the first time in more than half a century.
West Brom bagged £7.4m loss in relegation season
By David Owen
April 3 – West Bromwich Albion, the Chinese-controlled Midlands-based football club currently battling to make a swift return to the Premier League, has reported a £7.4 million loss for its relegation season.
Mbappe and Kane top price lists, as Sancho’s value leaps to match his breakthrough season
April 3 – With the season now rapidly progressing towards its closing league stages across Europe and eyes starting to focus on summer transfer activity, the CIES Football Observatory has calculated the highest estimated transfer value per big-5 league club.
New Milan stadium in doubt as mayor says he prefers a revamp of San Siro
April 2 – Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala has spoken of his preference for the cities’ clubs to renovate the San Siro rather than construct a new stadium, leaving future plans over the venue in doubt.
US investors buy Denmark’s Helsingor to provide talent hot house
April 2 – An American investment group led by Jordan Gardner has acquired a majority share in Danish second-tier club FC Helsingor. Gardner is a minority investor in Swansea City and wants to use the Danish outpost to develop American talent.
Olympiakos and Forest owner Marinakis unearths a Diamond S. $1.65bn win
April 2 – Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, clinging on to hope of a play-off slot for a Premier League place, has sealed a major deal in another part of his business empire with the launch of new corporation, Diamond S. Shipping Inc, on to the New York Stock Exchange.
Bournemouth’s Cherries sink into red by £10m
By David Owen
March 29 – The financial strain inherent in maintaining a highly competitive Premier League squad while based in a tiny stadium appears to have started to show at AFC Bournemouth.
Top tier Huddersfield cash in with £30m profit
By David Owen
March 28 – Huddersfield Town, the once mighty Yorkshire club who surprised many last year by extending their Premier League stay to a second season, have unveiled a near £50 million improvement in profitability for the year to end-June 2018.
Will Juve and United be on FIFA’s buy list? Zurich’s money men are not (yet) ruling it out
By David Owen
March 26 – FIFA has yet to rule out buying shares in stock exchange-listed football clubs such as Italy’s Juventus and Manchester United of the Premier League as part of its updated approach to management of its financial assets.