December 15 – AFC Wimbledon, who have clawed their way into the third tier of English football, have taken a big step towards returning to the site of their spiritual Plough Lane home in south west London with the granting of planning permission to start building their new £25 million stadium.
December 12 – Premier League Burnley have said that there will be no further ground developments to increase the capacity of Turf Moor until there is a greater demand for seats.
December 12 – Inter Milan have launched a bond issue to raise €300 million to satisfy a loan taken out by former majority owner, Indonesian Erick Thohir. The bond will mature in 2022.
By David Owen
December 8 – Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis was paid over £2.6 million in emoluments over the year to May 31. A breakdown included in the annual accounts of Arsenal Holdings plc, recently filed at Companies House, reveals that on top of a basic salary of £1.67 million, Gazidis received a £919,000 bonus and pension and benefits totalling £29,000.
December 7 – Serie A side AS Roma have been given the go-ahead to build their own stadium after an on-off project planning process that has taken five years to complete.
December 6 – French prodigy Kylian Mbappé tops the ranking by transfer value of U21 players in the big-5 European leagues. The PSG striker takes over the lead spot from Spurs’ Dele Alli.
December 5 – Italian Serie B club Frosinone has launched a mini-bond to raise €1 million to invest in stadium upgrades that will in turn drive commercial revenue for the club. It is the first fund-raising of its kind in Italian club football.
By David Owen
December 5 – Clubs which supply squad members for next year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia can look forward to massively increased payments of around $8,530 per player per day, in recognition of their “contribution to the successful staging” of the tournament.
December 5 – Tottenham Hotspur have said that the construction costs for the club’s new stadium on the site of the old White Hart Lane ground are still forecast come in between £750 million and £800 million, and not hit the £1 billion cost reported.
December 4 – The cost of Tottenham Hotspur’s new North London stadium has ballooned to more that £1 billion, making it the most expensive football construction project in the UK, costing even more than West Ham’s Olympic Stadium, built for the 2012 Olympics and remodelled into the London Stadium for the Hammers.
December 4 – West Ham’s tenancy at the London Stadium has been controversial from the start. Accusations that the stadium was a government giveaway to the Premier League club seem to have now been backed up London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s announcement that he is stepping in to take over the running of the stadium that is costing the taxpayer £20 million a year.
November 30 – Outspoken La Liga president Javier Tebas has hardened his resolve to take Paris St Germain to the European Union over alleged financial fair play breaches unless UEFA acts first.
November 29 – Celtic, unbeaten for 65 games in the Scottish Premier League, have reportedly turned their expansion attentions to Australia and have made an approach to buy an ownership stake in Australian side Central Coast Mariners who play in Australia’s A-League. They have also been linked with A-League champions Brisbane Roar.
November 29 – After months of speculation, Lionel Messi has signed a new contract keeping him at Barcelona until 1920-21, saying he had moved closer to his “dream” of finishing his career at his boyhood club.
By David Owen
November 24 – Only five clubs have so far reported, 25% of the total, but already it looks like Premier League participants are on course for record aggregate profits in the 2016-17 financial year.