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.
Finance
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.
Flamengo seek €5m loan but banking on €22m of player sales
February 10 – Brazilian club Flamengo is seeking a €5.3 million loan to provide working capital for the start of the 2021 season.
Big money Manchester clubs rack up net transfer losses of €1.2bn
February 10 – In a city where the lead striker of one of the world’s biggest clubs collects honours for fighting a campaign to maintain free school meals and fight child hunger, the clubs themselves have gorged on the transfer market at world leading levels.
Denmark’s Esbjerg fB becomes latest Pacific Media-led acquisition
February 5 – Danish club Esbjerg fB, relegated from the top tier Superliga last season but currently in second place in Division 1, is the latest club to come under the control of Pacific Media Group who are partnering in the acquisition with Chien Lee, Partners Path Capital, and Krishen Sud.
Dell looks poised to close on acquisition of Serie A’s Spezia
February 2 – Spezia are on the verge of becoming the fifth American-owned Serie A Club, with MSD Capital in talks to invest in the Serie A side.
DaGrosa changes tack. With Saints deal dead KFG focuses on player development
February 2 – US private equity investor Joe DaGrosa has dipped his toe in the international football development waters with his Kapital Football Group (KFG) investment company via an agreement, effective July 2020, with Bolivia’s Tahuichi Academy.
January transfer window sees Big 5 club spending plummet by £620m
By Paul Nicholson
February 2 – Spending in the January 2021 transfer window plunged across Europe’s big five leagues from £890 million in 2020 to £270 million in the buying window that closed yesterday, according to figures from Deloitte.
Losses soar at Brighton’s Seagulls as pandemic takes £25m hit
By David Owen
January 27 – Losses have widened at Brighton and Hove Albion, the progressive south-coast Premier League club, after a season described by chairman Tony Bloom as “one of the most challenging in our club’s history”.
Barca’s $billion debt bubble looks ready to burst
January 26 – The full extent of the financial crisis at Barcelona, one of the biggest brands in world football, have been laid bare by staggering claims that the club is on the verge of bankruptcy.
San Francisco 49ers touch down in Leeds with bigger stake and even bigger plans
By Paul Nicholson
January 25 – NFL team San Francisco 49ers have bumped up their stake in Premier League Leeds United from 15% to 37% in a deal that reportedly values the club at £250-280 million.
Barca, Real and Bayern top money league as covid kicks off club revenue decline
By David Owen
January 26 – Revenues at Europe’s Top 20 clubs were down 12% in 2019-20 as covid began to disrupt the industry, according to the latest Football Money League produced by Deloitte, the professional services firm.
Serie B’s Pisa is latest Italian club to move into foreign ownership
January 25 – Alexander Knaster, an Anglo-American tycoon of Russian origin, has acquired a 75% stake in Italian Serie B side Pisa Sporting Club.