European clubs show €600m profit on revenue of €20.1bn
September 10 – European football’s top-division clubs made a profit for the first time on record in 2017 totalling €600 million as the effects of financial fair play kicked in.
Finance
Tebas keeps up ‘financial doping’ pressure saying it damages Spanish football
September 10 – Controversial Spanish league boss Javier Tebas has made another attack on Paris St Germain for breaking the spirit of football law in terms of the money they acquire and spend.
West Ham hammer LLDC for ‘misleading’ rent figure which masks the £10m it pays
September 20 – The controversy over the ‘giveaway’ of London’s newly built 2012 Olympic Stadium to Premier League club West Ham United is not going away with club furiously claiming the public have been misled over the amount it pays for its tenancy.
Bitcademy brings blockchain to funding of player development and player trading platform
September 7 – In what may be a world first, a blockchain start-up is working to help develop new and untapped football talent from under-developed countries through an AI-based digital marketplace.
Neymar tops list at €233m as KPMG launches new player valuation tool
September 6 – KPMG Football Benchmark has released a new digital Player Valuation tool that provides market value estimations for 4,000 players from the top 11 European and South American leagues.
Old players in new money: Shevchenko top list, Ferdinand and Shearer follow
September 6 – What would the value of players in the early years of the Premier League look like if they were playing today? Andriy Shevchenko, who cost just over £29 million when he transferred to Chelsea in 2006, would likely cost over £144 million.
LaLiga challenges Premier League, as transfer spend rockets in Spain but drops across big-5
August 5 – Total transfer spend in Europe’s big-5 leagues in 2018 dropped by 2.4% to €5.82 billion, with English Premier League clubs accounting for 36.5% of the spend.
Brazilian striking legend Ronaldo scores a €30m stake in LaLiga’s Valladolid
September 4 – Former Brazilian striker Ronaldo has bought a 51% stake in in LaLiga side Real Valladolid for €30 million.
£350m for Watford? Pozzo turns down £125m share sale
September 3 – Premier League Watford’s Italian owner Gino Pozzo (pictured) has reportedly turned down a £125 million offer for 37.5% of the club from US media investment company Pacific Media Holdings.
AC Milan could reach deal new deal with UEFA to satisfy past FFP rule breaking
September 3 – The rollercoaster financial and ownership ride of AC Milan’s progress into this Europa League under the club’s new management group looks to be taking a further positive step for the club.
Blackbridge and SportyCo combine to offer cryptocurrency opportunity to clubs
August 31 – Cryptocurrency is increasingly making inroads into the commercial football club market with the latest announcement being a strategic partnership between investment finance dealmakers Blackbridge Cross Borders and blockchain technology business SportyFi, operator of the SportyCo platform.
On/Off: Abramovich rumour mill fuels Chelsea sale and stadium rebuild talk
August 28 – Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is poised to restart plans to renovate the club’s west London stadium, Stamford Bridge, though it seems increasingly likely he will not be the owner once the stadium rebuild is complete.
Own goal: Zlatan and Varner lose their shirt on A-Z fashion brand
August 23 – Not everything he touches turns to gold. Star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, now thumping goal in at the LA Galaxy in the US, has taken a hit himself and has closed his joint venture fashion label A-Z label.
Socios.com builds capacity to push its blockchain solution into club market
August 22 – Socios.com, the blockchain technology that enables clubs to monetise their fan bases, has stepped up its push into the football business with the recruitment of Magnus Linder from Bettson to head club partnerships and business development.
Premier League transfer spend drops £200m to £1.23bn, after 10-year growth bubble
By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
August 10 – The amount spent in the summer transfer window by English Premier League clubs has fallen for the first time in eight years. Clubs spent £1.23 billion in the window that closed yesterday, a drop of £200 million, but still £180 million up on the net expenditure record of £685 million in summer 2016, according to Deloitte figures.