Barca invest in their future with launch of Innovation Hub
March 23 – FC Barcelona have officially unveiled their Barça Innovation Hub (BIH) with the aim of positioning the club as the leader in sports knowledge, innovation and technology.
Finance
Bayern’s dominance is bad for Bundesliga, says Siefert
March 21 – The German Bundesliga is often portrayed as a model example of fair play when it comes to club ownership rules and affordable ticket prices. But according to the league’s own CEO, Christian Seifert, Bayern Munich’s domination threatens the Bundesliga’s reputation and their rivals must show more ambition in order to close the gap.
Man Utd to head for US for five game summer pre-season
March 20 – Manchester United will tour the US for two weeks as part of their pre-season preparation in July, playing five games on the east and west coasts, most likely as part of the International Champions Cup (ICC) tournament.
City Football Group targets new club acquisitions
March 20 – City Football Group (CFG) are “focused on” expanding the number of clubs they have under ownership from the their current four of Manchester City. New York City FC, Melbourne City and Yokohama F Marinos, according to chief commercial officer Tom Glick (pictured).
Chelsea, Bayern and Inter Milan sign up for ICC summer debut in Singapore
By Paul Nicholson
March 17 – The International Champions Cup (ICC) has unveiled Singapore as its exclusive south-east Asian venue for the next four years. For the 2017 tournament, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan will play each other in July.
Stadia: Everton edge to waterfront, Aberdeen no-go, Spurs spat with London
March 17 – The long-running saga of Everton’s proposed move to a new stadium seems to be the closest it has been yet to coming to fruition.
AC Milan sale: €200m down, €540m to pay, but is the Chinese gold mine exhausted?
March 16 – It would be the biggest Chinese acquisition of a European football club to date, but it now looks like it could end up the most expensive €200 million football folly of all time.
Fiorentina plan a ‘purple renaissance’ starting with €420m new stadium
March 13 – Serie A club Fiorentina have outlined plans for a new 40,000 capacity stadium in Florence that would be open for the start of the 2021-22 season.
Berlusconi prepared to keep AC Milan and the €200m if Chinese deal disappears
March 8 – Silvio Berlusconi has said that he would “not hesitate” to keep AC Milan if Chinese buyers Sino-Europe Sports failed to complete on the acquisition. But if you had already accepted a €200 million non-refundable deposit you would likely say the same.
London’s Mayor gives go-ahead for Chelsea to redevelop Stamford Bridge
March 8 – London Mayor Sadiq Khan has given approval to Chelsea’s new £500 million stadium. The club’s redevelopment proposal had been agreed by the Hammersmith and Fulham local council in January,
Swans report £14.6m loss as management change drives up costs
By David Owen
March 6 – Swansea City have become the latest Premier League outfit to report a downturn in financial performance. The South Wales club, making good headway on the pitch under new manager Paul Clement, have posted a £14.6 million pre-tax loss for the year to July 31.
Celtic’s gain, Liverpool’s loss. £15.7m redundancy payment takes shine off Reds’ profits
By David Owen
March 5 – A hefty redundancy payment for former manager Brendan Rodgers looks to have been partly responsible for the deterioration in profitability at Liverpool in the 2015-16 financial year.
Leicester City end glory year with a £16.4m profit
By David Owen
March 5 – The market value of Leicester City’s playing squad is reckoned to have nearly quadrupled to £236.3 million as a consequence of last year’s fairy tale season which ended with the Foxes crowned Premier League champions in one of sporting history’s greatest shocks.
AC Milan deal stalled again as Chinese offer a third £100m deposit to Berlusconi
March 2 – The closing of the sale of AC Milan to a Chinese investment group rescheduled for March 3, now looks set to be extended further with club owner Silvio Berlusconi reportedly considering accepting a third, non-refundable, €100 million deposit on the deal.
Chinese transfer window closes after a record £331m spend. Is it closed for good?
March 2 – China’s new restrictions on foreign player quotas in order to boost domestic progress is widely expected to reduce lavish overseas spending.