By David Owen
October 29 – Tottenham Hotspur, the north London club still waiting to move into a new stadium nearing completion adjacent to its traditional White Hart Lane ground, has disclosed that net debt had reached a sizeable £366 million by the end of its latest financial year on June 30.
October 25 – The group that re-founded Parma after the Italian club’s bankruptcy in 2015 and started again in Serie D under the banner ‘Nuovo Inizio’ (New Beginning) have re-taken a majority shareholding, wresting control from Chinese investors Desports.
October 23 – The UK tax authorities are following the Spanish lead and focussing on payments to players for their image rights that have not been declared for tax. The payments are made separate to the player’s salary and are often taken outside the UK by companies holding the rights, rather than directly to the players or managers.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 18 – Would it have been a national disgrace or was it vital for developing the country’s grass-roots game? The jury was out but now it makes no difference after the English Football Association’s proposed £600 million sale of Wembley stadium to Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan unexpectedly fell through on Wednesday when the owner of Premier League Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team suddenly withdrew his offer.
October 18 – Arsenal is transitioning from Arsene Wenger to Unai Emery, and from being a publicly traded company to a privately owned football club. As the changes take place so the financial transparency and supporter interaction with the club is taking a new shape.
By Paul Nicholson
October 16 – FIFA for $21 billion or Manchester United for $4 billion? When you have $1 trillion, why not buy both? The Saudi Arabian determination to acquire their way to controlling positions in world football’s biggest brands knows no bounds – and football, like business, generally doesn’t discriminate when it comes to money.
October 15 – Australian A-League clubs may be financially better positioned than they have been letting on during their governance and financial disputes with their football federation over power and money.
October 12 – AS Roma has reported draft financial statements for last season showing a record revenue of €250.87 million and a reduction in losses to €25 million, compared to the €42 million the previous year.
October 12 – The Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) is building an investment portfolio focussed on technology start-ups and SMEs that could have a direct impact on their business.
October 10 – The English FA’s controversial proposed sale of Wembley Stadium for £600 million to Fulham’s American owner Shahid Khan could be scuppered amid emerging allegations of “systemic corruption” at the club.
October 9 – Premier League Manchester United with €269 million-a-year ($308.7 million) in commercial deals are top of a ranking of European club sponsorship by value. Barcelona are close behind in second with income of €261 million ($291.5 million).
October 8 – Turkish giants Galatasaray AŞ who seemingly have spent as much time fighting UEFA over financial fair play breakeven regulations as they have competing in European club competitions, are back in hot water with UEFA’s the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).
October 8 – Saudi Arabia has aggressively been building a portfolio and presence in football, but in Egypt the kingdom’s efforts to exert influence have backfired as the meddling of Saudi sports minister Turki Al-Sheikh hasn’t been received well by local administrators and fans.
October 5 – While Barcelona were busy confirming they had broken the $1 billion revenue barrier and had profit of €124 million, LaLiga rivals Celta Vigo showed the huge scale of financial difference between clubs in the Spanish top tier, announcing they achieved a €12 million profit last season, and a budget of €72 million for the current season.
By Paul Nicholson
October 4 – Barcelona have confirmed record revenues of €914 million ($1.05 billion) for the 2017-18 season, an increase of €206 million on the previous year. The club says it is on course to break the €1 billion mark by 2021.