November 17 – As this weekend’s Milan derby approaches with both clubs now in the hands of Chinese investors, officials are questioning the authenticity of one of the deals.
By Paul Nicholson
November 15 – Dieter Hahn (pictured), the controversial and secretive boss of German media corporation Constantin Media and a key figure behind the scenes in the alleged cash for votes scandal around the Germany 2006 World Cup bid, has engineered a stunning boardroom coup that leaves him in control of Constantin which is to restructure as a sports only business.
By Paul Nicholson
November 9 – The polarisation of financial power around Scotland’s two big clubs, Celtic and Rangers, was emphasised again with Aberdeen reporting a record £13.4 million turnover, up £337,000 from last year.
November 8 – A Spanish judge has re-opened the case against Brazilian star Neymar and his father to stand trial on fraud charges relating to his 2013 move to Barcelona from Santos.
November 8 – The crisis at Inter Milan, one of Europe’s most iconic clubs, has gone from bad to worse with chief executive Michael Bolingbroke resigning and following sacked coach Frank de Boer out of the club.
By Paul Nicholson
November 3 – Saints could soon be marching in to a Chinese tune. The Premier League club are in exclusive negotiation with Lander Sports Development Co. of China though there seems to be some readjustment over valuation of the club.
November 3 – Forever cash-strapped Nigerian football could have a solution to its problems if rumours that a group of UK investors are ready to invest $1.5 billion into the Nigeria Professional Football League are true.
November 2 – The Hull City takeover saga continues with front-runner Greater China Professional Services Limited (GCPSL)holding a press conference in Hong Kong outlining their plans for the club, but saying that although they are currently undertaking due diligence they do not have an exclusivity agreement with the club but a memorandum of understanding.
By Paul Nicholson
November 2 – UEFA shared an eye-opening €1.345 billion between 42 clubs last season, an increase of €315 million on the previous season. Top of the table of high earning clubs were semi-final losers Manchester City (€83.8 million), Real Madrid CF (€80 million), Juventus (€76.2 million) and Paris Saint-Germain (€70.8 million).
November 2 – Being the poor relation doesn’t necessarily mean poverty. UEFA’s 56 Europa League clubs shared €411.1 million in payments for the last season of competition. Although a far cry from the €1.345 billion shared by the 42 Champions League clubs, it was a whopping €240 million increase on the 2014/15 season.
By Paul Nicholson
October 30 – Internazionale have announced a jump in revenue for 2015-16 of almost €43 million, despite having no involvement in European competition and in particular the lucrative Champions League participation and prize monies, a core target for the new Chinese owners.
In September it was reported that Javier Tebas, showman President of La Liga, had given conditional support to the notion of a breakaway European Super league. Well, to judge by his bravura performance at Sportel Monaco last week, the newly-re-elected Spaniard has undergone an evolution in his thinking.
By Samindra Kunti
October 31 – The Dutch FA, the KNVB, has reported a profit of €6.8 million for the 2015/16 season. The KNVB also revealed that registered members of the governing body had jumped to 1,227157, the highest level in its history.
By Paul Nicholson
October 28 – The accepted football wisdom is that if you throw big money at buying your playing squad then you will win. The reality of this rule of thumb is different and as a rule is challenged by a Football Benchmark analysis that examines the average net player trading activity, between the 2011-12 and 2014-15 seasons, of top European football clubs.
October 27 – The English Football Association is planning to invest £260 million as part of a scheme to improve grassroots football throughout the country.