Chelsea to hand Joao Pedro wage boost as club prepare for tough summer June 3, 2026 Chelsea face a difficult summer ahead following their failure to qualify for Europe, but Joao Pedro is set for a base-salary increase that may help them keep hold of one of their star players. The Brazilian forward – a £60m signing from Brighton last summer – was a rare bright spark in an otherwise gloomy [...]
Two T20 franchises to merge as external investment nears June 2, 2026 The two Australian Big Bash franchises based in Melbourne are to merge as private equity interest in the T20 league intensifies. The eight Big Bash teams are ripe for overseas picking amid a global interest in cricket driven by the United States and India, though not all Australian states voted in favour of selling up [...]
Liverpool have the most valuable front-of-shirt deal in the Premier League June 2, 2026 Liverpool have the most valuable front-of-shirt sponsorship deal in the Premier League, a new fair market report has revealed. The Reds’ reported £50m-per-season deal with financial services group Standard Chartered is actually undervalued by over £10m and should be worth £61m, according to The Sponsor’s “Premier league Fair Market Sponsorship Values 2026” report. It sees [...]
Como 1907: How to make it on the lake with tourist fans and fashion June 2, 2026 When somebody says Como it is easy to think of a gargantuan Italian lake, Renaissance architecture and quaint railways. But now it’s Champions League football. Having been declared bankrupt in 2004 and again in 2016, a new iteration of Como 1907 was founded in 2017 and put into the fourth tier of Italian football. Less [...]
Manchester City and Spygate prove lawyer gulf is opening in football May 31, 2026 In February 2023, Manchester City fans unfurled a banner at the Etihad Stadium bearing the words “Pannick on the streets of London”. This play on The Smiths’ 1986 song referred to Lord David Pannick KC, the barrister hired to spearhead the club’s defence against 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. [...]
Arsenal gatecrash top five of club valuations following return to glory May 28, 2026 Arsenal have returned to the top five of the world’s most valuable football clubs according to the latest edition of an annual independent ranking. The newly-crowned Premier League champions, who meet Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Champions League this weekend, have enjoyed a 23 per cent increase in enterprise value to €4.93bn, according [...]
Uefa Conference League: Even as a Palace fan there’s too much football May 28, 2026 I’m writing aboard a plane to Berlin en route to Leipzig for the Uefa Conference League Final. By the time you read this you’ll know whether my Thursday return trip hangover is fuelled by elation or despair. Whether Crystal Palace or Rayo Vallecano triumphed in the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night, it’s right to [...]
Expect investor activity in Premier League this summer, say Raine Group May 28, 2026 Raine Group, the bank behind the sale of Chelsea and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority purchase of Manchester United, has said to expect heightened activity this summer as Premier League clubs move to sell stakes and raise capital. The respected US merchant bank, which has recently advised on NBA Europe and franchise sales in the Hundred [...]
A good deal on the London Stadium was never an option May 28, 2026 In securing a future for the London Stadium, the choice was never a great deal versus a bad deal, but between any deal or no deal at all.
Brentford to seek permission for six concerts at stadium May 27, 2026 Premier League side Brentford wants to stage “up to six” concerts each year as clubs look to diversify their revenue streams. The 17,250-capacity G-Tech Community Stadium has been home to the Bees since a move from west London’s iconic Griffin Park in 2020. Now Brentford, who finished ninth in the Premier League this season, are [...]