Premier League spending down in this summer transfer window as Covid-19 pandemic forces clubs to tighten belts August 24, 2021 The pandemic has forced Premier League clubs to dial down their summer transfer spending, according to new research by Deloitte. With one week of the transfer window remaining, England’s top-flight teams have committed £70m less in gross terms than at the same stage last year. And although Manchester City broke the Premier League transfer record [...]
As bad as Arsenal are, it will probably get worse before it gets better – and clock is ticking for Mikel Arteta to show he can deliver improvement August 23, 2021 Buried by London rivals before half-time and reduced to the role of extras in Romelu Lukaku’s Chelsea homecoming, yesterday was a bad day for Arsenal. The truth is it could have been much worse: the European champions sliced through the Gunners’ gossamer defence at will without getting out of second gear. But despite having no [...]
Why a salary cap and luxury tax are unlikely to succeed where Financial Fair Play failed and make European football more competitive August 21, 2021 It feels symbolic that two of the biggest football transfers of the summer should precede the death knell for Financial Fair Play, the rules designed to rein in spending that now look set to be replaced with a salary cap and luxury tax. Paris Saint-Germain’s signing of Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s Premier League record [...]
What is the Europa Conference League, why is it happening and how will it work? Uefa’s new third club competition explained August 19, 2021 This season heralds the start of a new, third European competition for club football: the Europa Conference League. England’s role representatives are Tottenham Hotspur, who enter the competition at the play-off stage and play their first match this evening. But why has governing body Uefa created the new competition and how will it work? Read [...]
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 [...]