Sigurdsson sale not enough to prevent dive into loss for relegated Swansea
By David Owen
April 22 – Swansea City have reported a pre-tax loss of £3.2 million for the year to 31 July 2018, the club’s relegation season.
Finance
Newcastle repay £33m of debt to owner Ashley
By David Owen
April 19 – Newcastle United, the north-east club seemingly assured now of retaining its place in the Premier League for at least one more season, has repaid £33 million of the debt owed to owner Mike Ashley (pictured).
Valencia sell land to enable new Mestalla build to restart
April 18 – Spanish club Valencia will restart their efforts to complete the construction of their new stadium after they accepted a $128 million offer for the Mestalla stadium plot from local co-operative ADU Mediterráneo.
Sala transfer: Cardiff hang on to transfer cash as Nantes claim deal was completed
April 16 – Cardiff City have submitted evidence to FIFA in their dispute with Nantes over the £15 million transfer fee for the late Emiliano Sala.
Spurs residency and Taylor Swift lift turnover – but FA hit by surging costs
By David Owen
April 14 – An eventful 2017-18 season resulted in the English Football Association lifting turnover by £24.3 million while only managing to invest an additional £919,000, compared with 2016-17 levels, back into the game.
Qatar investment vehicle rumoured to be looking at AS Roma buy
April 11 – Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), the owners of French club Paris Saint-Germain, is rumoured to be in discussion over a potential acquisition of Italian club AS Roma to build a portfolio of European top clubs.
AC Milan in trouble with UEFA again over financial fair play breaches
April 10 – AC Milan face fresh sanctions for breaching Financial Fair Play rules after being referred to UEFA’s financial regulator for failing to meet the break-even requirement for the second year in a row.
€3.5bn Champions League fat cats all set for another mega-money feed
April 9 – The eight UEFA Champions League quarter finalists generated a total of generated total revenue of €3.5 billion in 2017/18. The FC Barcelona versus Manchester United will be the richest tie in the history of UEFA competition – the clubs generated a combined €1.4 billion.
Crystal Palace’s Eagles stoop to £35m loss as player trading turns red
By David Owen
April 9 – Crystal Palace, the Premier League’s penalty kings, have reported a substantial 2017-18 loss, as the cost of last season’s successful survival push under former England boss Roy Hodgson took its toll on financial performance.
Manchester City parent CFG reports another £44.8m loss
By David Owen
April 8 – City Football Group Limited (CFG), the Abu Dhabi- and Chinese-owned entity that holds investments in various football clubs including Premier League giants Manchester City, has posted a £44.8 million loss from continuing operations for the year to 30 June 2018.
Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliife, tables $100m+ bid for OGC Nice
April 8 – British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in talks to buy French Ligue 1 side via his chemicals company, Ineos. Reports are that he has already bid $100 million.
Player agents cash in on Premier League with £260m in fees, Liverpool pay most
By Andrew Warshaw
April 5 – Amid the constant debate over the role of agents, new figures reveal that Premier League clubs paid out an eye-watering £260 million to them during 2018-19 – an increase of £49 million on the previous 12 months.
Analysis: Spurs show the well-balanced way to record-breaking profit – but mind the debt
By David Owen
The newly-published Spurs accounts make fascinating reading. Given the world record profit for a football club of almost £139 million at the pre-tax level, this scarcely needs to be said. But there is more to it than that. In one word, you could call it balance.
Hype Capital launches $75m innovation fund with Reebok and VfB Stuffgart old boys
April 5 – Digitally driven sports innovators have another tech fund to tap for development finance. Hype Sports Innovation has unveiled plans for a $75 million capital fund with Uli Becker, ex-president of Reebok and Bernd Wahler, former president of VfB Stuttgart.
Spurs smash Liverpool’s record with £139m profit
By David Owen
April 4 – Tottenham Hotspur, the North London club who played their first match at their gleaming new stadium on Wednesday, have announced a world record annual profit for a football club of £138.9 million for the year to end-June 2018, smashing the £125.1 million figure unveiled by Liverpool in February.