Champions League behind the numbers: Richest clubs, most valuable squads and players 2020-21 October 20, 2020 The Champions League begins again in earnest this week when the cream of European football kick off the group stage. It comes less than two months after Bayern Munich lifted the trophy in a coronavirus-delayed conclusion to last season. Despite that success, the German club do not have the most valuable squad in this year’s [...]
Premier League teams reject controversial Project Big Picture reforms October 14, 2020 Premier League clubs have renounced controversial plans for English football’s biggest shake-up in almost 30 years. ‘Project Big Picture’ proposed reducing the number of teams in the top division and giving the six biggest clubs sweeping powers in exchange for a major package of financial aid for the wider game affected by Covid-19. But clubs [...]
English football clubs ‘will not be allowed to go bust’ due to Covid-19 October 14, 2020 Clubs in the English Football League (EFL) will not be allowed to go bust as a result of the coronavirus crisis, a senior government minister has said. Oliver Dowden, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said he had received assurances from both the EFL and the Premier League that they had the [...]
Premier League restructuring plan is ‘power grab’, cultural secretary warns October 12, 2020 A radical plan to restructure the Premier League looks like little more than a “power grab” by English football’s elite clubs, a top government minister has warned. Manchester United and Liverpool are among the teams to back a Covid-19 rescue package for lower league football that would spark a major shake-up of the game. The [...]
Saudi Arabian takeover of Newcastle United off as bid withdrawn July 30, 2020 The Saudi Arabia-backed bid to takeover Newcastle United football club has been withdrawn this afternoon. A consortium made up of the Gulf state’s Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers had reportedly made a £300m bid to businessman Mike Ashley for the Premier League team. In a statement, the group said: “With [...]
Coronavirus and football: What happens if the Premier League is cancelled? March 14, 2020 As Liverpool’s footballers emerged from the dugout at Anfield on Wednesday evening, fans stretched their hands down towards them from the flanking stands in search of a high five. Most players ignored them. Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s second highest goalscorer of the season and African player of the year, reached up to grant one supporter his [...]
Stop comparing business with football December 4, 2019 There are many similarities to be drawn between the executive boardroom and the football pitch. Both are high-stakes environments, full of competition and ruthlessness. They also host some of the most meaningless jargon in the history of the English language (think “game of two halves” and “reaching out about disrupting industries”). And, dare I say [...]
Man City owner CFG buys majority stake in India’s Mumbai FC November 28, 2019 City Football Group (CFG), the Abu Dhabi company which owns Manchester City, has signed a deal to purchase a 65 per cent stake in India’s Mumbai City FC. The acquisition means that CFG will own stakes in eight football clubs, including majority stakes in New York City FC and Melbourne City. Read more: Silver Lake [...]
Stevenage FC launch share offering as they seek £1.2m boost to promotion ambitions June 3, 2019 For clubs scrambling to scale the ultra-competitive English football pyramid it can pay to go against the grain. Ambitious Stevenage FC are doing just that with an innovative equity offering designed to give them a leg up into League One and, later, the Championship. Chairman and majority owner Phil Wallace hopes to raise £1.2m by [...]
Premier League given profit warning as rising wage bills eat into margins despite record revenue April 25, 2019 The Premier League may be experiencing a vintage season on the pitch, with a title race for the ages, most key positions in the table still undecided and English clubs dominating in Europe once more. But off the field the picture appears to be taking a turn for the worse, with top-flight teams’ most recent [...]