ABERDEEN may be Scotland’s third club at the moment but their financial figures for 2018-19 highlight the chasm between the Dons and the Old Firm, Celtic and Rangers. Derek McInnes’ team plays host to Rangers this week with nine points separating the Gers from Aberdeen. This is only one aspect of the difference between the two clubs – Aberdeen’s turnover may be close to £ … Continue reading Aberdeen wary of the Glasgow gap
IF football is a supply and demand industry in England, then on first glance it appears to be working. Crowds in the Premier League are at their highest level since the 1950s and some clubs have waiting lists for season tickets that stretch back years and years. True, there is an argument that “modern football” is pricing people, notably the traditional working-class out of the … Continue reading Opium for the masses – the cost of Premier addiction
SIX YEARS on from the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United have become rich under-achievers. After all, this is the world’s wealthiest club bar one or two, with one billion fans but they are absent from the competition that was created for their like – the UEFA Champions League. United have released their first quarter results this week and although their revenues are more … Continue reading Manchester United’s malaise hits the bank balance
BORUSSIA Dortmund (BVB) may have posted solid revenues for 2018-19, but their net total (excluding transfers) of € 377 million is dwarfed by rivals Bayern Munich’s revenues for the same period of € 750 million. While BVB will be ranked among the top dozen clubs in terms of their revenues, the gap between the Bavarians and the rest of the Bundesliga is underlined once more. … Continue reading Borussia Dortmund still chasing Bayern – on and off the pitch
SINCE THE launch of both the FA Premier League and UEFA Champions League, the football industry has undergone significant change, characterised by unprecedented revenue growth, bloated competitions, globalisation and expanded franchises. Football has become a business that attracts new owners and new sponsors as the world’s most popular sport becomes a compelling proposition for investors and finance providers. The top level clubs have never been … Continue reading Like it or not, football has to be more aligned to finance
AFTER a long career in finance, working for major, highly-regulated institutions, coming across many of the companies in the football industry has been something of a reality check. For three years, I have combined my successful financial writing career with my freelance football activities, which date back to the late 1980s. For most of my working life, I was involved in an environment that was … Continue reading An eye-opener – life on the fringe of the football industry
FRANCE’s top division will have a new name for the 2020-21 season, the Uber Eats Ligue 1, after the US online food ordering and delivery service agreed to sponsor the league until 2021-22. This naming rights deal, making Ligue 1 sound a little like an English non-league competition, will yield € 32 million for the French league, a significant increase on the previous deal with … Continue reading Corporates still line-up for football
MANCHESTER CITY are the most valuable club in the Premier League according to a new study by the University of Liverpool Management School’s Centre for Sports Business. City’s valuation of £ 2.4 billion is around £ 300 million higher then neighbours Manchester United (£ 2.1 billion). The paper, led by leading football finance expert Kieran Maguire, underlines how the so-called big six clubs are way … Continue reading City overtaking neighbours on and off the pitch
NATURALLY, nobody is happy about the clandestine discussions that may or may not have taken place over the past few months involving certain clubs to create a closed football league comprising the wealthiest names across the top five nations. A “super league” is what they are calling it, but effectively, it is a cartel of the “super rich”, a group driven by greed and entitlement. … Continue reading Why a super league could work if handled properly
AS football’s business machine rolls on, creating wealth and competitive imbalances, supporters all over the world cannot be truly satisfied with the way the game has evolved in recent years. Unless you are a fan of the dozen or so clubs that now strand astride European, indeed world, football, your expectations have to be even more realistic than they ever were in the past. Although … Continue reading Commentary Box: Models for concern
THIS season’s big talking point, aside from the future of Manchester United’s manager, is whether Chelsea’s Eden Hazard will leave London and join Real Madrid in the summer. Opinions are divided about the outcome, with Chelsea’s supporters convincing themselves he will stay at Stamford Bridge, while others believing the lure of Europe’s top club will be too much for the 27 year-old from the land … Continue reading Football Media Watch: Hazard a guess
BELIEVE it or not, there are still many people who do not realise that local non-league clubs play in the same competition as Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool. The fact that a succession of qualifying rounds are over by late October, long before the game’s aristocracy even think about the prospect of new year cup-ties, only fuels the mild surprise that Ragbag Rovers from the … Continue reading Brimful of cash: Why the FA Cup is vital for non-league clubs
IF ever a sport reflected a certain disconnect with its audience, it is surely football. Wages continue to climb, the big clubs remain cash cows and the competitive imbalances that have plagued the game for the past decade show little sign of levelling out. In contrast, most of professional football’s client base enjoy very modest lives. When the global financial crisis broke in 2008, some … Continue reading The catalyst for modern football? The financial crisis of 2008
