UK’s biggest pub chain Stonegate to promote Spanish football after agreeing deal with LaLiga to show its matches in 100 pubs August 18, 2021 The UK’s biggest pub group, Stonegate, has struck a deal with Spanish football league LaLiga to show and promote its matches. Stonegate will showcase the LaLigaTV channel, which broadcasts all live games and recently announced Gary Lineker as a presenter, in almost 100 key pubs including its London-based Sports Bar and Grill chain. The move [...]
England striker Tammy Abraham joins Roma from Chelsea in record breaking transfer for an English player moving overseas August 17, 2021 Tammy Abraham has left Chelsea for Roma in a €40m (£34.1m) transfer that makes him the most expensive English player ever signed by an overseas club. England centre-forward Abraham has signed a five-year contract with the Italian team, where he will be reunited with former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. The fee of £34.1m eclipses the [...]
Football clubs, players and agents increasingly on HMRC’s radar August 16, 2021 HMRC tax investigators are targeting football clubs for £45m in tax they have underpaid, City A.M. can reveal today. According to data provided by HMRC to accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young and shared with this newspaper today, HMRC has uncovered £5.8m in tax owed by players and £4.8m owed by agents in the last year. [...]
Barcelona president Joan Laporta reveals debts at crisis club have grown to £1.15bn following Lionel Messi departure August 16, 2021 Barcelona, once hailed as the model for all football clubs to follow, are now £1.15bn (€1.35bn) in debt, according to their president Joan Laporta. The five-time European champions’ financial crisis was highlighted last week by their inability to afford a new contract for Lionel Messi, their greatest ever player. Laporta said Barcelona’s wage bill exceeded [...]
Watford FC to feature Doge on football shirts August 16, 2021 Watford’s shirt sleeve sponsor for the upcoming 2021-22 season will be the meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin. According to an insider at Watford FC, the deal is worth upwards of £700,000 and will exceed the £1m sponsorship deal which the Premier League club inked with its previous sleeve partners Bitcoin if the bonus conditions are met. Dogecoin [...]
Goals galore: Full houses witness Premier League’s second highest scoring opening weekend ever August 16, 2021 The return of fans to full stadia coincided with the highest scoring opening weekend in the Premier League for almost 20 years. For the first time since March 2020, England’s top-flight clubs were allowed capacity crowds at matches as the new season got underway. And supporters were treated to a feast of goals, with a [...]
Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City among Super League rebels to return to European Club Association August 16, 2021 Nine of the rebel football clubs who agreed to join a breakaway European Super League – including six Premier League sides – have rejoined the European Club Association (ECA). The teams renounced their memberships of the influential group, which represents more than 200 of Europe’s leading clubs, as part of their decision to join the [...]
UEFA close to €6bn aid package for European football clubs August 13, 2021 UEFA is reportedly close to signing off on a rescue package worth up to €6bn (£5.1bn) to help European football teams recover from the pandemic. The funding is part of a proposed three-part strategy by the governing body, to be outlined in the coming weeks, aimed at helping clubs following stadium closures and a sharp [...]
Premier League 2021-22 season preview: Fans of London clubs name their best and worst case scenarios and their players to watch August 13, 2021 For even the most jaded of football supporters, the start of a Premier League season is a special time. The arrival of new managers and players promises to transform fortunes, while last year’s disappointments have faded sufficiently to allow optimism to break out again, at least until the first round of games. So ahead of [...]
Grave impact of pandemic on English football laid bare by report but US investor appetite grows August 12, 2021 A report published by accountancy firm BDO has displayed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on English football clubs. The BDO report, which surveyed the finance directors from the top four leagues, found that more than 80 per cent of clubs accessed the furlough scheme, while 70 per cent deferred tax payments. The impact of [...]