Southampton owner Solak steps up £170m fight with London fund Sport Business Billionaire Southampton FC owner Dragan Solak has escalated a legal battle with London-based private equity fund BC Partners, which he says owes him and his business partners £170m. Solak has asked Dutch authorities to investigate what he calls a “serious governance crisis” at United Group, the telecoms and media business he founded but which is [...]
Barcelona score financial boost with Camp Nou reopening date Sport Business FC Barcelona have announced they will stage their first match at the rebuilt £1.25bn Camp Nou in August, in a significant boost to the financially constrained European giants. The reigning Spanish champions have had to play their home games at Barcelona’s former Olympic stadium for the last two seasons, heavily denting their ticketing income. But [...]
Rangers takeover: 49ers promise to attract better sponsors and signings Sport Business The San Francisco 49ers will lend a “global gravitas and awareness” to Rangers that helps them attract more lucrative commercial deals and better signings, says the Scottish club’s new vice-chairman Paraag Marathe. A US consortium spearheaded by private healthcare businessman Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the NFL franchise which also owns [...]
Chelsea fans slam club’s ‘exploitative’ new ticket policies June 24, 2025 Chelsea fans have blasted a controversial new ticket pricing strategy, accusing the ownership of “exploiting the loyalty of those people who are the lifeblood of the club”. The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust says season ticket prices have increased by an average of 17 per cent in the last two years and that polling of its members [...]
Most expensive sports teams: How Lakers, Celtics, Commanders and Chelsea smashed records June 21, 2025 Mark Walter’s planned takeover of the LA Lakers is poised to set a new record for the most expensive sports team sale, continuing the boom in the franchise market. Walter, who majority owns the LA Dodgers and is a part-owner of Chelsea, has agreed to increase his stake in the Lakers to a controlling one [...]
Sheffield Wednesday: EFL hits cash-strapped club with fresh sanction June 18, 2025 Financially stricken second-tier club Sheffield Wednesday have been hit with further sanctions on player recruitment over late payments, the English Football League (EFL) has said. Sheffield Wednesday were already under a transfer embargo after they and owner Dejphon Chansiri were charged by the EFL over non-payment of player wages in March and May. But the [...]
Barcelona credit rating rises from stable to positive June 16, 2025 Barcelona today boasted of an upgrade in their credit rating, with the LaLiga champions seeing their status move from “stable” to “positive”. An assessment from agency Morningstar DBRS has upgraded the Catalan club’s credit rating despite Barcelona facing recent financial difficulties, in which they were fined over £400,000 for breaching Uefa rules in 2023. The [...]
Florian Wirtz: Liverpool agree British record transfer fee of £116m June 13, 2025 Liverpool have agreed the signing of Germany midfielder Florian Wirtz for a potential British record transfer fee of £116m. The Premier League champions will pay Bayer Leverkusen a minimum of £100m for the 22-year-old but that amount could increase to £116m if Wirtz meets certain performance targets. If Liverpool pay the maximum amount it would [...]
Does the Women’s Super League need a salary cap or other cost controls? June 13, 2025 Does the Women’s Super League need a salary cap? That was the question posed this week by no less an authority than Deloitte’s Sports Business Group upon the release of its 34th Annual Review of Football Finance. The report contained plenty of positive updates on the finances of WSL teams: aggregate revenue grew 36 per [...]
Premier League operating profit hits five-year high as PSR bites June 12, 2025 Premier League clubs recorded their highest collective operating profit since 2019 last year as controversial PSR regulations enforced a greater emphasis on balancing the books. Aggregate operating profits among the 20 teams in the top division increased by 36 per cent to £533m in 2023-24, according to Deloitte’s latest Annual Review of Football Finance published [...]