Ed Warner: The metaverse, Web3 and what it means for football club valuations May 5, 2022 In this week’s column, Ed Warner delves into the metaverse’s possible ramifications for the business of sport and considers the latest twists in the Chelsea sale saga. It was the shoes that put me in my place. Queuing to enter the SportsPro Live jamboree at The Oval last week, I scanned the footwear of my [...]
Chelsea facing administration unless Roman Abramovich drops plans to call in £1.5bn debt May 4, 2022 Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will likely have to drop plans to call in his £1.5bn loan to the club or see it go into administration. Abramovich is reported to have scrapped an apparent previous commitment to write off the debt as part of the sale of the club. The sanctioned Russian oligarch is not allowed [...]
Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ shirt auctioned for record £7.14m May 4, 2022 Maradona’s iconic 1986 World Cup ‘Hand of God’ shirt fetched £7.14m at auction this afternoon- marking a new auction record for any item of sports memorabilia. The shirt itself football history during the Argentina v England quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup after the footballer scored two of the most notorious goals in footie history. [...]
London’s NFL matches confirmed with Packers set to play in capital May 4, 2022 The NFL have today confirmed the schedule for the three matches to be played next season in London. The Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints will clash on 2 October with the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers meeting a week later – both of those matches will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur [...]
Revealed: From Ronaldo’s £12m to Lukaku’s £8m, here is how much the Premier League’s best-paid stars stump up in UK tax May 4, 2022 While some might consider Premier League footballers to be overpaid prima donnas, they make contributions that would make the average taxpayer’s eyes water. New research shared with City A.M. today reveals how much tax is paid by the League’s biggest stars. The highest paid footballer in The Premier League is Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo. [...]
Chelsea sale: Sir Jim Ratcliffe bid ‘rejected out of hand’ by Roman Abramovich’s bankers May 4, 2022 Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid for Chelsea has been “rejected out of hand”, according to senior figures at his business the Ineos Group. The British petrochemicals billionaire made an 11th-hour offer for the Premier League club last week which comprised £2.5bn plus a commitment to invest a further £1.75bn. But Ratcliffe has indicated that he is [...]
Sprinkling local football clubs with money won’t make them sustainable endeavours May 4, 2022 The domestic football season has come to a dramatic close, with two sides from the North West jostling for the title and four London teams competing frantically for the coveted spots in Europe. Since its inception, clubs from these two areas have dominated the Premiership, especially over the past twenty years. Perhaps it is something [...]
Carlo Ancelotti: Management’s Mr Cool banishing his comeback demons with Real Madrid May 3, 2022 Carlo Ancelotti added yet another achievement to one of the best CVs in football at the weekend when his Real Madrid team, who face Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday night, won the Spanish title. It made former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and AC Milan coach Ancelotti the only manager ever [...]
Chelsea sale: Deal plunged into doubt after U-turn on loan repayment – reports May 3, 2022 Fresh doubt surrounds the proposed sale of Chelsea after it was reported that owner Roman Abramovich wants to change the structure of the deal. Having previously indicated that he was willing to write off more than £1.5bn of debt owed by the club to another of his companies, he is now said to have asked [...]
Caspar Fownes has a Rock-solid chance on Sha Tin’s dirt May 3, 2022 TRAINER Caspar Fownes is a past master of finding long-term targets for some of his gallopers – Senor Toba winning the Group Three Queen Mother Memorial Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday, springs to mind – and he looks to have found a suitable opportunity for THE ROCK in today’s feature race, the Yuen Long Handicap (3.50pm) [...]