Thomas Cook collapse hits fans booked to follow English clubs in Europe
September 24 – Hundreds of fans are awaiting news on whether packages for upcoming games will be valid following the collapse this week of the Thomas Cook travel company.
Finance
Refinancing stretches average maturity of Spurs’ £600m-plus stadium debt-load to 23 years
By David Owen
September 20 – Tottenham Hotspur, nowadays the top football club in North London, has closed its refinancing of the £637 million bank loan put in place to support the construction of its gleaming new stadium.
Prince Abdullah seeks Saudi support for Sheffield Utd; Bin Laden cash would be no problem
September 19 – The new Saudi owner of English Premier League club Sheffield United says he would happily do business with the family of Osama Bin Laden to bring fresh investment into the club.
David Owen: Blade runner
Mr Justice Fancourt’s 138-page judgment in the recent High Court battle over Sheffield United offers a fascinating insight into the business affairs of a venerable but otherwise fairly ordinary English professional club over a six-year period in the early part of the 21st century. I would recommend any serious student of the football industry taking an hour or two to skim through it.
UK court rules in favour of Saudi Prince as McCabe loses Sheffield for £5m
September 17 – Sheffield United, back in the English Premier League after 12 years, look set to be controversially taken over by the Saudi prince who already owns 50% of the club.
Financial football. Is Arnault kicking around an €890m deal for AC Milan?
September 17 – AC Milan are being linked with a takeover by the world’s second richest man, Bernard Arnault, though reports of a £890 million deal have been denied.
Wolves’ Chinese owners said to be seeking £70m minority investment
By David Owen
September 16 – Reports have started circulating that Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Chinese owners are open to selling 20% of the club, as they seek to build on what has so far been a successful return to English top-flight football.
Spain break $1bn in transfer spend as Big 5 account for 75% of global spend
September 13 – FIFA has released the 12th edition of its Big 5 Transfer Window Analysis report that examines the activity in the big five European markets of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain in the Summer 2019 transfer window.
Agents cashed in with $529.3m in fees in Summer transfer window
By Paul Nicholson
September 11 – Intermediaries earned a massive $529.3 million in commissions in the last transfer window, according to data from FIFA TMS (transfer match system) covering the summer transfer window.
Man City’s Billion Euro babies top club value ranking, Man Utd are 4th, Liverpool 7th
September 10 – Manchester City are the world’s first billion euro squad by transfer value, with a combined player cost of €1.014 billion following activity in the summer transfer window just closed.
Barça on course to break €1bn revenue mark but development costs rise
By Paul Nicholson
September 10 – FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said that the club is on course to break the €1 billion revenue barrier for the 2019/20 season, and set a new football club record.
Unfinished business: Neymar could be back in Barcelona by Christmas
By Paul Nicholson in Edinburgh
September 5 – PSG’s €200 million star Neymar Jnr could leave the club as early January for Barcelona, though more likely at the end of the season if PSG play him in Champions League matches before the Winter transfer opens.
Bayern bounce past €750m revenue mark
September 5 –Bayern Munich joined became the second Europe’s giant clubs to announce revenues of slightly more than €750 million following on from Real Madrid’s posting of €757 million last week.
Clubs face financial risks as cost of players balloons by 31% in a year, says report
September 5 – The €6.6 billion spent in the European summer transfer window represents a 31% increase in the price of players compared to the previous year, according to figures from the CIES Football Observatory.
Bury cling to lifeline as EFL says it will discuss re-entry with member clubs
September 4 – The story of the expulsion of former English Football League club Bury may yet have another chapter, with the EFL board bowing to public pressure and saying it will discuss with other member clubs the possibility of allowing Bury re-entry at League Two level.