Liverpool owners FSG poised to sell off £750m stake to RedBird Capital
March 1 – Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) are reportedly on the verge of agreeing the sale of 10% in the holding company for a reported $750 million.
Finance
Juve continues to bleed red with €113m first half loss
February 26 – Juventus’s plummeting revenue due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a loss of €113 million for the first six months of the 2020-21 season.
AC Milan crypto launch raises $6m as early trading volumes top $50m
February 26 – Blockchain-driven Fan Tokens – football’s version of cryptocurrency – saw AC Milan the latest club to launch with their $ACM Fan Token debuting on Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, and raising more than $6 million in new digital revenue in a matter of hours.
DFL readies tender for international rights sell off to private equity investors
February 25 – The German Football League (DFL) is to invite investment bids for a minority stake in its overseas media rights business, according Bloomberg.
Everton get Liverpool’s approval to build £500m new stadium
February 24 – On Merseyside, Everton are flying high. Following their first derby win in 22 years at Anfield against arch rivals Liverpool, the club’s plans for a 52,000-seat stadium were unanimously approved by the local city council.
Mbappé, Kane and Sterling top transfer values, Messi drops €27m, Delle Ali €15m
February 23 – Kylian Mbappé may still be worth €185 million and Harry Kane alongside Raheem Sterling may still be the world’s second most valuable players at €125 million, but overall the values of players have dropped more than 10% during the pandemic, according to the latest data from KPMG Football Benchmark.
Legia Warshaw to launch $LEG fan token on Socios.com platform
February 23 – Poland’s Legia Warsaw has become the latest football club to join Socios.com’s blockchain-based fan token platform with the launch of the $LEG Fan Token.
Louis-Dreyfus family back in football with Sunderland takeover
February 19 – At the age of just 23, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is the new chairman of English League One club Sunderland – a hugely supported club which in recent years has punched well below its weight – after his takeover was approved by the English Football League.
FIFA report shows January transfer market fell off a $1.16bn cliff to $590m
By Paul Nicholson
February 18 – FIFA has released an international ‘Transfer Market Snapshot’ report that shows the impact of the pandemic on player movement is “even more severe” than it 2020 Global Transfer report.
OL’s Aulas calls on players to share the pain with 25% pay cut, offset by a share deal
February 18 – Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas has asked his players to take a pay cut in a bid to mitigate the financial fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic and loss of Ligue 1 TV rights revenue.
Seven Serie A clubs put block on €1.7bn CVC deal arguing it undervalues rights
February 18 – Serie A’s €1.7 billion private equity deal for a 10% stake in the league’s newly created media business looks to have been scuppered.
Serie A’s Spezia bought by Platek family from the US
February 12 – Robert Platek and his family have become the latest Americans to take ownership of an Italian club, having completed the takeover of Serie A’s Spezia.
Chelsea repays Abramovich £4.5m, confirms £35.7m profit for 2019-20 season
By David Owen
February 11 – Accounts have been filed for Chelsea, showing that the West London club appears to have repaid a modest amount of funding to Russian owner Roman Abramovich in 2019-20.
Report warns that transfer market’s financial ‘correction’ is far from over
By Paul Nicholson
February 11 – The drop in transfer spending as a result of the global pandemic will not be a one-off occurrence but the start of a correction of the whole transfer business, according the KPMG Football Benchmark researchers.
Panel finds in favour of PFA and rules English League One and Two salary caps ‘unlawful’
February 10 – Salary caps for players in England’s League One and League Two, representing the third and fourth tiers of English football, have been scrapped following a decision by an independent arbitration panel – just eight months after they were introduced.