By David Owen
March 29 – Newly-published accounts for West Bromwich Albion, the Midlands club marooned at the foot of the Premier League table, reveal a sharp drop in directors’ remuneration since it was taken under Chinese control in September 2016.
By David Owen
March 29 – Premier League Southampton have posted a hefty profit for the year to end-June 2017, its last under the control of Katharina Liebherr. In August, Liebherr’s vehicle, St Mary’s Football Group, sold out to Lander Sports (UK), bringing the club under the control of Jisheng Gao, a Chinese property magnate.
By David Owen
March 27 – AFC Bournemouth, the Russian-controlled south coast minnows getting used to life in the Premier League under their bright young manager Eddie Howe, more than quadrupled pre-tax profits to £14.6 million in the period to 30 June 2017.
March 27 – With West Brom set to announce a predicted year end financial return of about £40 million in profit, the club’s chief executive Mark Jenkins has said that the finances are actually in a poor state and that the club is going to need an overdraft facility, its first for 1o years.
March 26 – City Football Group (CFG), owners of Premier League Manchester City and New York City FC in the MLS, has again indicated that further club acquisitions are likely and that China will likely be the next market.
March 23 – Regarded as the root of everything morally correct about the German club structure, the Bundesliga has voted to retain the 50+1 rule which has been held up as a bastion of commercial fair play.
March 22 – Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into last year’s sale of AC Milan by Silvio Berlusconi’s holding company to a Chinese consortium, according to Reuters quoting a judicial source.
March 21 – English Championship club Brentford are targeting a December 2019 move into their new West London stadium, according to club chairman Cliff Crown. Ground breaking has just begun on the site for the 17,250 capacity venue, with building work starting next month in what is expected to be an 18-month construction timeline.
March 21 – If Tottenham Hotspur were to sell Harry Kane they would see a return on investment of €198 million, making him the biggest and best potential piece of player business in the world. Lionel Messi, of Barcelona were to sell him, could net €197 million for the club.
By Paul Nicholson
March 19 – Runaway English Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers look certain to be headed back to the Premier League but they will need to head off growing concerns about their ownership and the influence of super agent Jorge Mendes in the club’s signings, an influence that will concern Premier League club owners, many of whom rely on Mendes for key foreign players.
By David Owen
March 18 – City Football Group Limited, the Abu Dhabi- and Chinese-owned entity that holds investments in various football clubs including Premier League champions-elect Manchester City, has posted a £71 million loss from continuing operations for the 13 months to 30 June 2017.
By David Owen
March 18 – FIFA have reported a net loss of $191.5 million for 2017, the third year in the four-year World Cup cycle that will culminate with Russia 2018 this summer.
By David Owen
March 16 – Watford, the Premier League club based in London commuter-land and controlled by Gino Pozzo, has announced a modest advance in annual pre-tax profit from £3.6 million to £4 million.
By David Owen
March 16 – The sale of Ashley Williams and the recently-returned André Ayew allowed Swansea City to return to profit last season. A £36.9 million gain on player disposals turned a £23 million operating loss into a £13.4 million profit at the pre-tax level. This compared with a £14.6 million pre-tax loss the previous year.
March 14 – Goals Soccer Centres, an operator of outdoor small-sided football centres, has announced year end profits to December 2017 of £6 million on revenue of £33 million.