By Paul Nicholson
February 13 – Germany’s DFL is reporting a 14th consecutive annual uplift in professional football revenue to €4.42 billion for the 2017/18 season, an impressive average annual growth of 8.6%.
February 13 – Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Chinese-owned club with a deep and somewhat uncomfortable link to player agent Jorge Mendes, has further outlined plans for the redevelopment of its 32,000 capacity Molineux Stadium.
By Paul Nicholson
February 11 – With big decisions coming up next month on FIFA’s proposed expansion of the international football calendar and concern around the pressures they will bring, an analysis of player injuries since Russia 2018 shows Premier League clubs have seen a 44% increase in injuries to players who played in Russia.
By David Owen
February 8 – Liverpool have confirmed that they have become the first football club in history to report an annual pre-tax profit of more than £100 million.
By Paul Nicholson
February 8 – The spectacular drop in spending in the January transfer window of $325 million ($979 million in 2018 vs $654 million in 2019) is examined in the latest report from the KPMG Football Benchmark team.
February 7 – French club Nantes have reportedly requested the first tranche of payment from Cardiff City over the £15 million transfer of Emiliano Sala whose light aircraft went tragically missing over the English Channel a fortnight ago, with wreckage only recently discovered.
February 6 – Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi has greenlighted the build of AS Roma’s proposed new 52,000 all-seat stadium – Stadio della Roma – in the south of the city. Construction could begin by the end of the year.
February 1 – Premier League spending in the mid-season January transfer window fell for the first time since 2012 with a quieter than usual deadline day capping off a distinctly unspectacular window.
January 30 – Russian businessman Maxim Demin has regained full ownership of Premier League club Bournemouth after acquiring the 25% stake held by Chicago-based private equity firm Peak6 Investments.
January 30 – FIFA could sanction Chelsea if the governing body finds the London club guilty of breaking regulations with regard to ‘transfers’ of more than 100 under-aged players from overseas. Chelsea maintain they have complied with the rules.
January 29 – Sapphire Ventures has raised $115 million for a new sport venture capital fund and has Manchester City owners, City Football Group (CFG) as one of its cornerstone backers.
January 28 – Inter Milan is now under full Chinese ownership with private-equity fund LionRock Capital having the 31.05% stake retained in the club by in Indonesian Erick Thohir when he sold to Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group in 2016.
By David Owen
January 27 – Arsenal, the North London team battling to secure the top-four Premier League finish that could see them return to the Champions League, have reported one of the biggest annual pre-tax profits ever recorded by a football club.
By David Owen
January 24 – Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have taken over at the top of this year’s Deloitte Football Money League, relegating Manchester United to third place.
January 24 – Former England captain David Beckham is set to take a 10% stake in Salford City, a non-league English club, joining a number of other members of Manchester United’s so-called Class of 92.