DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke has called for calm amid fan protests and demands for a new vote over the plans to sell a stake in the Bundesliga’s media rights business to a private equity firm.

Blackstone withdrew from the race to invest in the media rights unit last week, leaving CVC Capital Partners as the sole remaining bidder. Jost Peter, chairman of the fan group ‘Our Curve’, claimed Blackstone’s withdrawal was the “first success of the protests”.

However, Watzke – who announced last month that he is to step down from his role as Borussia Dortmund CEO next autumn – has sought to reassure fans and the game as a whole over the prospect of welcoming investment from CVC.

In an interview with German newspaper Bild, he claimed that CVC knows "there will be zero influence with us. Zero. There will be no new kick-off times and nothing like that with us.

“We need them for international marketing, their job is to help us reach fans all over the world better. They have accepted all our red lines and don't want to reform our football in the slightest – we are responsible for that”.

He added: "We are not selling shares, but are looking for a partner who will help us move forward overall. Above all, we must not and will not sell ourselves to any partner. We need to ease the tension in our relationship with investors. An investor is not inherently a bad thing."

Appeal to supporters

Watzke also appealed to supporters not to further escalate their actions after a ramping up of protests against private equity involvement in the Bundesliga over recent weeks, with many matches disrupted. An invitation from the DFL for further talks on its plans has been rejected by fan representatives.

"If someone is negative about this process, you have to accept that,” Watzke said.

“It just has to remain respectful and not escalate further. At this point, I ask the fan groups not to push the escalation point any further. Our offer of talks stands, and of course we are all ready to have these talks – not publicly, but trust-building. We need to enter into intensive dialogues as soon as possible."

 

Nottingham Forest working on plans to increase City Ground capacity to 40,000

Nottingham Forest are aiming to increase the City Ground’s capacity from 29,550 to 40,000 amid hopes that long-held plans to redevelop the stadium will finally come to fruition.

Club chairman Tom Cartledge told The Athletic that Forest want to extend the Bridgford Stand by another 5,000 seats, as well as replace the Peter Taylor Stand with a two-tier 10,000-seat structure.

However, he acknowledged there are still obstacles to negotiate and said the club hopes to extend its current lease with Nottingham City Council, which owns the land the stadium sits on, or potentially buy the freehold.

“If the city council gives us the nod, he [club owner Evangelos Marinakis] wants me to get on with everything straight away,” he said.

Shipping containers

Some work is already underway at the stadium, with a new corner box of executive suites on each end to be built from shipping containers – inspired by Stadium 974 in Qatar at the 2022 World Cup.

Forest also intend to build a new state-of-the-art training ground, with an announcement expected soon about location, as well as open a museum in the bowels of the Trent End.

 

SPFL to meet Premiership clubs amid criticism of governance review

Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) chairman Murdoch MacLennan and CEO Neil Doncaster are to meet Premiership clubs this week amid criticism of the league’s governance and leadership.

The SPFL has announced that the independent governance review, commissioned after the league body lost a long-running legal dispute with Rangers over its title sponsorship deal with Cinch, has now been delivered to all member clubs.

As reported by Scottish TV news programme STV News, six Premiership teams – Aberdeen, Motherwell, Livingston, Rangers, St Johnstone and St Mirren – have already pointed to “serious concerns” over the report’s independence and transparency, as well as the overall governance of the SPFL.

The league later said it had addressed “factual inaccuracies” regarding the club’s claims, which were outlined in an open letter.

Already-scheduled meeting

The six top-flight clubs had called the chairman and CEO to a meeting on 27th February to discuss their issues, with all other member clubs invited to attend.

However, MacLennan, Doncaster and SPFL non-executive Karyn McCluskey will now meet representatives of all Premiership clubs at an already-scheduled meeting this week, with the governance review on the agenda.

 

Chelsea confident of appointing Brighton head of recruitment Sam Jewell

Chelsea are reported to be confident of securing the appointment of Brighton & Hove Albion head of recruitment Sam Jewell, 16 months after appointing his predecessor Paul Winstanley.

According to The Athletic, Brighton are aware of Chelsea’s offer and will allow Jewell to decide whether he wants to move to the Stamford Bridge club.

Brighton would like to keep Jewell but are aware of the attraction of a potentially lucrative proposal and while no agreement has been reached, it is understood the head of recruitment is leaning towards accepting the Chelsea offer.

Sporting directors

Winstanley became one of the sporting directors at Chelsea in November 2022, which led to Jewell taking up the Brighton role on an interim basis.

Jewell, son of former Wigan Athletic manager Paul, was appointed head of recruitment permanently in February 2023 but, a year later, could be following his predecessor to west London.

The combined total revenues of top-flight clubs in Europe are projected to reach €26 billion for the 2022/23 financial year after reaching a record level of just under €24 billion in 2021/22, according to a new report from UEFA.

The Club Finance and Investment Landscape report – previously called the European Club Footballing Landscape report – also concluded that commercial income for 2022/23 was set to exceed domestic broadcast revenues for “the first time in decades”.

Early-reporting clubs’ commercial revenue rose by more than €700 million on the previous year to stand at €5.4 billion – an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year and up 30 per cent on the pre-pandemic level from 2019. UEFA found that 80 per cent of early-reporting clubs achieved increases in commercial revenue in 2022/23.

The data for 2021/22, based on analysis of more than 700 top-flight teams, showed that the commercial income earned by the clubs reached a record €7.8 billion, a rise of 14 per cent on 2020/21.

Sponsorship income increased by eight per cent, while other commercial revenues were up by 27 per cent, boosted by the removal of restrictions on the use of stadiums and increases in merchandising revenue.

Player wages rise by less than 1 per cent

The report also noted that in 2022/23, player wages grew by less than 1 per cent, the lowest growth level on record, “contributing to the re-balancing of the wages/revenue ratio for many clubs.” The increase compared to a rise of 4.7 per cent to €12.8 billion in 2021/22, up 13 per cent on the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

However, UEFA also pointed to rising debt levels across European clubs, with bank debts expected to pass the €12 billion mark in 2022/23, a 50 per cent increase on the level seen before Covid.

 

Everton takeover decision expected by end of February

Everton and their prospective new owner 777 Partners are expecting contact from the Premier League this week over the potential takeover of the club as the league’s directors and owners’ test finally reaches its conclusion, The Daily Telegraph has reported.

It is understood that all outstanding questions have been answered by the Miami-based group, with the club still confident it will learn its fate within the next two weeks.

Approval from the English FA, Women’s Super League and Championship Board is also said to be pending, with sources confirming to the newspaper that due diligence is ongoing.

Premier League contact with 777 over the coming days is expected to include an exact date for a decision, although others with understanding of the clearance process expressed some caution around the likelihood of 777 being given a specific date this week.

The Premier League never details a public timeline for its process. Newcastle United were kept waiting 18 months for approval of their takeover by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).

777 optimism

It is believed that for 777, there remains optimism the deal will finally be signed off, despite having aimed to be completed by Christmas. Clearance from the Financial Conduct Authority was provided in December but Premier League CEO Richard Masters suggested last month that questions still needed to be answered while speaking at a Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing.

The Premier League’s directors and owners’ test has been tightened in recent years, but resolving the Everton situation is now said to be top priority after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United was cleared earlier this week.

 

Belgian clubs’ total losses rise to €193 million for 2022/23

Clubs in the top two tiers of Belgian football posted a cumulative loss of €193 million for the 2022/23 financial year, according to figures released by the licensing commission of the Belgian FA (RBFA).

The combined deficit exceeds the €156 million loss for 2021/22 by €37 million. Belgian champions Antwerp registered a record deficit of €46 million, while Standard Liège (€19 million), AA Gent (€19 million), OH Leuven (€18 million), Lommel (€14 million) and Zulte Waregem (€12 million) were the other main loss-makers.

The only clubs out of 25 not to suffer a deficit were Club Brugge, Union, STVV, Racing Genk, Kortrijk and Cercle Brugge.

Belgian Pro League CEO Lorin Parys listed three factors for the huge losses – high wage bills, increased taxes and fines for breaking the broadcast contract early during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He told local media: “It is a fact that clubs pay players too much. The inflationary wage spiral must stop.”

Wages to revenue ratio

At present, Belgian clubs spend 88 per cent of their revenue on wages. However, by 2025 Pro League teams will be punished if they have not brought the ratio down to 70 per cent.

Parys said: “That is a soft form of a salary ceiling, intended to contain losses in the long term. The good news is that 13 clubs already meet the 70 per cent criterion. Nineteen clubs achieved the target benchmark of 90 per cent in 2023.”

 

West Brom takeover agreed with Shilen Patel set to become chairman

English Championship club West Bromwich Albion have agreed a takeover deal with Florida-based businessman Shilen Patel.

Patel emerged as the preferred candidate to takeover the club by outgoing owner Guochuan Lai, who had been in control of West Brom since September 2016.

Patel will acquire an 87.8 per cent shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club.

The takeover is set to be ratified next week.  Patel, who owns a minority shareholding in Serie A club Bologna, will be named as West Brom’s chairman.

“I am thrilled and grateful to have reached an agreement to become the custodian of West Bromwich Albion Football Club,” Patel said.

“The club’s exceptional history, support, and potential set it apart even here in the cradle of football.

“My goal is to help the club achieve a future worthy of its history as a pioneering top-flight club that marshals the pride and passion that have defined the Albion for generations.

Repay loan

Earlier this week, Lai agreed a deal to repay a loan he secured on shares in West Brom’s parent company to speed up the takeover process.

Lai acquired the West Midlands club from Jeremy Peace for over £200 million in July 2016.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have received Premier League approval to buy a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United after passing the league’s owners’ and directors’ test.

The Premier League confirmed in a statement yesterday that its board has approved the acquisition of the stake, as well as a further investment of $300 million in United.

The deal is now expected to be completed in the next few days as the English FA signs off a final agreement after Ratcliffe extended his purchase offer until the end of this week.

According to club filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as of the close of Friday 19.4 million shares had been validly tendered, meaning that Ratcliffe has already passed the threshold to complete his deal.

The Premier League statement read: “The Board agreed to the change of the club’s ownership structure last week, and this has now been officially ratified by an Independent Oversight Panel.The Premier League’s Owners’ Charter has also been signed.

“This is the first acquisition of Control to be reviewed and approved by a new Independent Oversight Panel following changes to the process which were agreed by Premier League clubs in March 2023.The Premier League now awaits confirmation of the transaction’s completion.”

United shares up 6 per cent

United’s Class A shares rose by more than six per cent to almost $21 in post-market trading on Monday after Ratcliffe pushed the deadline for his tender offer to Friday from midnight Tuesday.

As reported by Bloomberg, the advance erased losses from earlier in the trading day amid speculation over whether the offer would be extended.

In December, Ratcliffe agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake by allowing investors to swap about one-quarter of their Class A stock holdings for $33 per share, well above the current market price.

 

Bundesliga media rights business stake sale: Blackstone considering dropping out of bidding

Blackstone is reported to be considering withdrawing from the race to acquire a stake in the Bundesliga’s media rights business, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The American private equity firm is said to be concerned about how long a deal could take to come to fruition after a number of clubs called for a new vote on the plans, which were narrowly approved in December.

It is also understood that structuring and economic factors make it hard for Blackstone to see how it would make a deal work.

A withdrawal would leave CVC Capital Partners as the sole remaining bidder. Sources told Bloomberg that CVC is still committed to pursuing a potential deal.

Ramping up of fan protests

Blackstone’s deliberations come after a ramping up of fan protests against private equity involvement in the Bundesliga at the weekend. Many matches, including the top-of-the-table clash between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, were delayed as fans threw sweets and bouncy balls onto the pitch.

The game between Hamburger SV and Hannover 96 was interrupted after Hannover fans showed a banner of the club’s managing director, Martin Kind, behind a crosshairs.

Meanwhile, the publication Spiegel Sport last weekend criticised Blackstone chairman Stephen Schwarzman, observing that in 2010 he compared planned tax increases by president Barack Obama with Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland. Schwarzman apologised for the analogy at the time, while maintaining his criticism of the tax proposal.

 

English clubs overtaken by French teams as top January transfer spenders

French clubs topped the table for spending on international transfer fees in January, with a total outlay of $291.9 million, according to FIFA’s latest International Transfer Snapshot.

The figure was more than double the amount spent by French teams in the previous January window and saw them leapfrog English clubs, whose spending dropped by almost 80 per cent compared to their record outlay in January 2023.

Nevertheless, English teams were still the second highest this January, totalling $184 million. It was the first time since 2017 they have not been the highest winter spenders, amid caution over the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

In France, five Ligue 1 clubs Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Rennes, Lyon and Nice – spent more than $20 million. Lyon had the biggest outlay, spending more than $50 million on seven new arrivals, while Paris Saint-Germain spent $40 million.

The top five for total spending was completed by Germany ($151.8 million), Spain ($148.7 million) and Brazil ($122.6 million). The outlay on transfer fees across the men’s game reached $1.46 billion, the second-highest amount for a January window, bettered only by the record $1.57 billion spent last winter.

Women’s football transfer spending climbs to record $2.1 million

In the women’s game, spending on transfer fees reached a new record of $2.1 million for January, following the $3 million spent last summer, also a record. The latest window included Chelsea’s signing of striker Mayra Ramirez from Levante for a world record fee of €450,000.

There was a 33 per cent increase in player transfers including a transfer fee within the women’s game. The list of incoming transfers was jointly headed by England and Spain, each with 29 transfers, with Sweden and the USA joint top of the table for outgoing transfers, with 30 apiece.

Premier League clubs have narrowly approved tougher new associated-party transaction (APT) rules despite the threat of a legal challenge from one of its teams – understood to be Manchester City.

As reported by The Times, 12 clubs voted in favour of the changes and six against at a Premier League shareholders meeting on Friday, with two clubs abstaining. It is thought to be the closest vote in the league’s history – exactly meeting the requirement of a two-thirds majority.

APT rules cover sponsorship deals with companies connected to the clubs, and any player transfers between teams in the same ownership group to ensure they are of “fair market value”.

They aim to stop sponsorship deals being artificially inflated or for clubs to benefit from buying players cheaply – or selling them for inflated prices – from or to associated clubs.

The Premier League confirmed in a statement that amendments had been agreed to the rules by clubs at the shareholders meeting. It said: “Following a full review of the existing Associated Party Transactions Rules and Fair Market Value assessment protocols, clubs agreed to a series of amendments to further enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the system.”

Arbitration proceedings

According to Sky News, the 20 top-flight clubs were notified on Thursday that one of them had informed the Premier League that it could resort to arbitration proceedings to prevent the new associated party rules being adopted.

There was speculation on Friday that Manchester City was the club which had objected to the reforms. It is understood to have told the Premier League that the changes were unlawful in English competition law. The Premier League has said it is confident the rules are compatible with English law.

Cityhave previously expressed their opposition to tighter APT rules. Their stadium is named after Etihad, the Gulf state's flagship airline, and is said to have been among those voting against restrictions on loan signings between clubs with common ownership during a ballot on the issue in November.

A City spokesman declined to comment to Sky News on whether it was the club which had threatened legal action over the APT rules, but disputed the assertion that it was state-owned.

 

FC Barcelona to postpone Barça Vision IPO due to Libero's non-payment of €40 million for stake

FC Barcelona are to postpone the IPO of Barça Visión following the failure of the German investment fund Libero to pay the club €40 million for the purchase of a stake in the digital unit.

Libero announced last August it would be purchasing a 9.8 per cent share of Bridgeburg Invest, the holding company which controls Barça Vision.

However, at the beginning of this year it was reported that Barcelona had not been paid by Libero after extending the deadline to pay them until 31st December. The company was said to be the third prospective shareholder in the subsidiary to fail to deliver on planned payments.

According to El Economista, Mountain & Co – the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up to channel the move on to the American stock market – has now asked its shareholders to push the IPO back once again given the impossibility of meeting the 9th March deadline. A new date is yet to be confirmed.

Barcelona had originally planned for Barça Visión to go public last autumn. The club initially sold 49 per cent of the digital unit to Orpheus Media and Socios.com for €200 million last year. Libero and another investment firm, NIPA, had agreed a deal to repurchase a 29 per cent share from Orpheus Media and Socios.com, leaving them with 9.75 per cent each, while Barcelona would retain their 51 per cent majority stake.

Court orders Barça to pay €22.7 million over tax case

Meanwhile, Barcelona have been ordered to pay €22.7 million after Spain’s National Court ruled that the club incorrectly paid tax on player agent fees between 2012 and 2015.

The court has upheld the penalty imposed by the Resolution of the Central Economic Administrative Court (TEAC), after the Catalan club appealed its decision in 2020.

The state argued that agents provide a service to their players – not the clubs – and therefore Barcelona’s payments to them should be subject to personal income tax. Barcelona argued the opposite – that agents provide a service to the club and their fees should not be attributed as payments to their players.

However, the court said it is “abundantly clear” from the TEAC’s case that there has been tax simulation.

In a statement, Barcelona said they will appeal the National Court’s decision to the Spanish Supreme Court, and that they were “surprised” by the National Court’s ruling. The club added: “This ruling does not entail any payment obligation for the club at present, this contingency being properly provisioned in the annual accounts.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants Manchester United to create the “Wembley of the North” under ambitious plans for a spectacular new Old Trafford, The Daily Telegraph has reported.

According to the newspaper, the INEOS owner may ask the UK government for financial assistance to help build a new state-of-the-art ground for the club.

The British billionaire believes the North of England should have a world-class venue to rival London’s 90,000 capacity Wembley Stadium and could yet seek to lobby the government for funds amid Westminster’s “levelling up” pledges.

£237 million initial investment

Ratcliffe’s £1.03 billion deal for a 28.9 per cent stake in United is due to gain regulatory approval over the next fortnight and comes with a guarantee of an additional £237 million of initial investment for Old Trafford.

Sources close to Ratcliffe told The Telegraph: “He feels the club needs an absolute state-of-the-art, knock-it-out-of-the-park, ‘wow’ stadium. And we feel there’s a strong argument for the country having a top-class major venue in the North – a Wembley of the North.”

Ratcliffe is said to be broadly opposed to the idea of United having to relocate but believes supporters would be amenable to the idea of a world leading new stadium on land immediately surrounding Old Trafford, the club’s home for the past 114 years.

 

PSG stadium dispute: Paris mayor rules out Parc des Princes sale

The deadlock between Paris Saint-Germain and the French capital’s city council over the Parc des Princes looks set to continue after the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, appeared to rule out selling the stadium to the Ligue 1 champions.

In an interview with French newspaper Ouest-France, Hidalgo stressed that the City of Paris’ stance on the issue remains unchanged. “I’ll repeat it: we are ready to study and assist in the transformation of the Parc,” she said.

“I’ll also say this again today, and in good faith to everyone: there will be no sale of the Parc des Princes. It is the heritage of the Parisian people. The subject is closed.”

The Paris mayor’s comments come amid a breakdown in communications between PSG and the Paris town hall over the future ownership of the venue, with neither party having been in communication with the other for over a year.

PSG aspire to own their historic stadium, which they currently lease from the city council. However, the town hall has refused all offers from the club to acquire the ground, and said its estimates were far below what they would be willing to accept.

Last month it was reported that Hidalgo had asked the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to help revive negotiations between the two parties, but that a message of reconciliation fell flat.

Nasser Al-Khelaïfi ultimatum

The Paris mayor’s latest comments also follow an ultimatum delivered last month by PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, who informed the city council publicly that it has three months to decide on whether to sell the Parc des Princes, and that otherwise the club will look to move away from the stadium.

It is understood that PSG are refusing to fund work on the Parc des Princes unless they can become the owners of the venue, and have been examining other options, including outside of Paris, with the site of a new stadium in the town of Montigny-le-Bretonneux currently being assessed by the club for its viability.

Last month, it was also reported that PSG have decided not to pursue a move to the Stade de France after withdrawing from the race to buy the French national stadium.

 

Premier League to use extra legal help amid high volume of PSR cases

The Premier League has been forced to recruit extra legal help as it attempts to process several ongoing cases related to its profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) ahead of strict deadlines, according to The Athletic.

Everton’s appeal hearing against their ten-point deduction handed out in November for breaching PSR took place last week, with a decision from the independent commission expected by the middle of this month.

However, further PSR cases against both Everton and Nottingham Forest are subject to strict timeframes outlined in the Premier League’s own regulations which it is not allowed to breach.

Those rules dictate that Everton’s second PSR case, alongside Nottingham Forest’s, must be concluded by 24th May – just under a week before the league’s AGM, a hard deadline where the next season’s shares are divided up.

The highly-complex case involving Manchester City, an ongoing investigation into Chelsea over possible breaches of financial regulations, and negotiations over the proposed financial settlement with the EFL are only adding to the workload.

External lawyers

It is understood that the Premier League usually engages external lawyers for significant matters usually the London-based firm Linklaters.

However, due tothe sheer volume of cases, as well as the constant need to keep on top of more ordinary regulatory matters, it is being forced to do this at an unprecedented rate, leading it to seek additional help.

 

Hull City post £21 million operating loss for 2022/23

Hull City have reported an operating loss of £21 million for the year ending 30th June, 2023, up from £7.9 million the previous year, as the club targets promotion back to the Premier League under owner Acun Ilicali.

The 2022/23 accounts, covering the first full year of Ilicali’s ownership, showed that turnover was £18.1 million, up from £15.4 million in 2021/22, reaching its highest level since the club's Premier League parachute payments ran out in 2019.

However, the club’s wage bill soared by 86 per cent on the previous year to just under £24 million – representing 131 per cent of total revenue. The increase is said to reflect Ilicali’s ambition of returning the club, who are currently in sixth place in the EFL Championship, to the top-flight.

Matchday revenue up 12 per cent

Hull’s accounts also showed that matchday revenue rose by 12 per cent to £6 million, boosted by the increase in attendances last season, while broadcast income climbed by £500,000 to £8.2 million, and commercial revenue almost doubled, rising to £3.9 million.

Player purchases totalled £8 million, while player sales rose to £15 million owing to the sale of Keane Lewis-Potter to Brentford.

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said he wants a European Super League to get underway within the next two years, and has named 15 clubs he claims are “ready to join” the project.

In an interview with Catalan radio station RAC 1 on Friday, the Barça chief said: "It could exist as early as next season, or as early as the 2025/26 season.”

However, he indicated he would consider returning to the UEFA fold if the breakaway was not in place by then. “If not I will think about it because UEFA is also interested in keeping Barça in the ECA [European Club Association],” he said.

Along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, the clubs named by Laporta as potential participants in a European Super League are Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli and AS Roma from Italy; Olympique Marseille in France; Sporting Clube de Portugal, Benfica and Porto from Portugal; Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord in Holland; and Club Bruges and Anderlecht in Belgium.

He added that the competition may begin with a small number of teams. “It would be better with 16 [clubs],” he said. “In the 1955 European Cup, only a few teams took part and look at what kind of league it is now, the competition par excellence in Europe.”

“English clubs very much in favour”

Laporta also claimed some Premier League clubs privately support the vision for a proposed breakaway competition. He said the latest plans have attracted support from England and that according to A22, the company behind the project, “the English clubs are very much in favour [and] that it seems that all the club owners are interested.”

However, he added: “Whether or not the English come, I don't care. They already have a Super League with the Premier League.”

Laporta’s comments have come after A22 co-founder Anas Laghrari claimed last month that 20 teams around Europe had already agreed to join the European Super League project.

Plans unveiled by A22 CEO Bernd Reichart in December were swiftly rejected by several Premier League clubs including Manchester United, while Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur also reaffirmed their loyalty to UEFA competitions.

Clubs deny involvement

None of the clubs named by Laporta during his RAC 1 appearance have said independently they favour the proposals for a European Super League, and since the radio interview several have strenuously denied they are set to join the project.

Among them are AS Roma, with the Italian club saying in a statement on Friday it “confirms that it does not support in any way any type of project attributable to the so-called Super League.” Feyenoord and Marseille also denied any interest in the competition.

 

Arsenal sell training ground naming rights to Dubai-based real estate firm Sobha Realty

Arsenal’s London Colney training ground has been renamed the Sobha Realty Training Centre after the club struck a naming rights agreement with the Dubai-based luxury real estate developer.

Sobha Realty has also become the training kit sleeve sponsor for the club’s men’s and women’s teams, and the Gunners said they will be able to call upon the firm’s expertise when developing the training ground.

The agreement builds on a partnership which first began last September when Sobha Realty secured naming rights to The WM Club – a premium match day hospitality suite at Emirates Stadium – which has since been redesigned and is now known as ‘The WM Club, Presented by Sobha.’

“Big ambitions”

Arsenal’s chief commercial officer Juliet Slot said: “Sobha Realty is a dynamic business with big ambitions. We’re excited to build on our partnership and tap into their extensive knowledge in property development.

“Their unrivalled experience will help us understand and explore the opportunities available to us, ensuring we’re always moving forward with world-class facilities for the future.”

 

Premier League January transfer spending plummets to £112 million over FFP fears

Premier League clubs’ transfer spending fell to just £112 million in January, down from £815 million last winter, with owners blaming increased scrutiny over the league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) for the significant downturn.

Last year English top-flight clubs almost doubled the previous January record set in 2018 as Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital continued their spending spree, but the market was noticeably quieter last month.

The total amount spent was above the £70 million outlay in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, but this year’s total passed the all-time low of £34.8 million set in 2010 only in the last few days of the window.

The £25 million spent by Tottenham Hotspur on the Romania defender Radu Dragusin was the highest fee this January. Loans were a key feature of the window, with Manchester United allowing 10 players to head out on that basis.

Greater reluctance to spend

Clubs increasingly prefer to wait until the end of the season to make big signings but it is understood there has been an even greater reluctance to spend in January following Everton’s 10-point deduction in November for breaching PSR.

Their appeal against that sanction began last week but the Merseyside club could face another punishment after being charged with a further breach along with Nottingham Forest.

A major shareholder of a top-flight side told The Guardian: “Everyone is worried about spending in a way I haven’t seen before because the Premier League never policed anything so closely until recently.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said that the world governing body is actively assessing an algorithm to measure transfer fees, reports Senior Correspondent James Corbett.

Speaking by video link to the FIFA’s Football Law annual review conference in Tokyo, Infantino said that it was “fundamental” for a debate to happen about topics on FIFA’s regulatory agenda.

These included, he said, “the possibility of an algorithm to measure the fair value of transfer fees.”

Infantino said such a measure would “increase transparency in the transfer system and help the football stakeholders.” He said that the topic was one that would come under discussion at the Tokyo event.

“We want to encourage discussion and what this means in practical terms,” he said. “We present, we discuss, we analyse and we take valuable knowledge back home to all parts of the world.

“Now more than ever it is fundamental for us to talk about these topics, from agents regulations to legal proceedings to the transfer system and financial sustainability. They are topics for all of football.”

This is not the first time that FIFA has broached this topic, although it appears to be the first time that the FIFA president has discussed the idea. Three years ago Ornella Desirée Bellia, FIFA’s Head of Professional Football, floated the idea at the same event, but without offering further details.

“Big amendments”

At the same event on Thursday FIFA’s head of legal affairs Emilo Garcia said that there was likely to be “big amendments” to the FIFA statutes at this year’s congress.

“It is the first goal of the FIFA strategy for the next four years – revise the FIFA statutes and improve our regulations. If everything goes in the right direction we will see new FIFA statutes approved by FIFA Congress on 17 May 2024 in Bangkok.”

A stakeholder committee from all members of the confederations are discussing what these will look like.

“Many regulations that were perfectly adequate only a few years ago have since been overtaken by recent events and both FIFA and football must not get left behind,” added Infantino.

“This is why two of our eleven strategic objectives for the next four-year period concern legal matters. Number one to revise the FIFA statutes and improve our regulations, and number two to implement transfer system reform and address other governance related matters.”

 

FIFA warns agents that regulation is still coming – from them or elsewhere

FIFA has said that it if it is unable to regulate agent activity, national governments and the EU are likely to step in and do it for them.

In December FIFA was forced to suspend its much-heralded agent regulations (FFAR) after a glut of legal challenges and injunctions, casting doubt on their long term future. It is currently awaiting a European Court of Justice ruling on a case brought against the regulations in Germany before deciding its next move. A separate case brought against FFAR in England has effectively killed its reform in football’s richest market, and legal challenges elsewhere further imperil the regulations.

“The legislative climate in many countries around the world is still very critical of an unregulated agent market, in particular when it comes to agent fees,” Katie Devlin, FIFA’s deputy chief legal and compliance officer, told the world governing body’s Football Law annual review conference in Tokyo.

“Many state legislations already have caps introduced and more could follow. We also see a critical view towards agent activity in the EU’s recent anti money laundering legislation, which seems to cover agent payments within its remit.

“Therefore irrespective of the outcome of the ECJ the football industry cannot find a way to regulate agent activity it may end up happening at the level of individual member states. But who knows – I’m crystal ball gazing now.”

Commitment amid legal battles

Devlin said that despite the plethora of legal challenges it had faced, the world governing body would continue to “respond robustly” to future legal challenges. She emphasised that it was continuing to enforce regulations not covered by legal suspensions, such as licensing requirements and rules that protected minors.

She said that FIFA’s focus from a legal standpoint was now on the ECJ case, but added that “governments and institutions, including those who have been calling for FIFA’s intervention and the reform of agent regulations” were watching developments as well.

She suggested that predictions of FFAR’s demise were premature. “In conclusion, it’s about half time in the match,” she said. “It has been a scrappy first half, but there’s everything to play for in the second half.”

 

Real Madrid set to unveil €70 million per year shirt sleeve deal with HP

Real Madrid are set to announce a shirt sleeve sponsorship deal with technology company HP that could be worth as much as €70 million per year, according to Spanish media.

An announcement is due today, after the club teased fans on deadline day yesterday with a short video posted on X (formerly Twitter).

If the reported figure is correct, the value of the agreement would match that currently paid by the club’s front-of-shirt sponsor Fly Emirates, whose agreement is in place until 2026.

The deal with HP is set to begin from the 2024/25 season, and will mark the first time Madrid have had two shirt sponsors at the same time, aside from kit deals.

The agreement would also bring the total amount generated in shirt sponsorship by the club to more than $270 million. Most of that comes from their deal with kit manufacturer Adidas, which is worth €117.6 million per year, and lasts until 2028.

€1 billion revenue target

The deal with HP is said to provide a further boost as Los Blancos aim to reach a target of €1 billion in total revenues in 2024/25. The revamped Bernabéu is expected to generate extra income of €166 million.

Everton’s appeal against their ten-point deduction handed out in November for breaching the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) will start today, with the final decision expected next month.

An independent commission imposed the penalty after accepting the Premier League’s argument that Everton had breached its rules for the three-year period ending 2021/22, by going £19.5 million over the permitted £105 million maximum loss. Everton accepted they were in breach, but by only £9.7 million and with mitigating factors.

According to The Times, the club are expected to argue that the punishment is disproportionate based both on the level of the breach and previous sanctions handed out for transgressions of other Premier League rules.

The appeal, which will finish on Friday, with the outcome due in mid-February, will be the end of the process as under Premier League rules there is no possibility of taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The appeal outcome will be particularly significant as Everton have been hit with a second charge for the period ending 2022/23, which should also be dealt with by the end of this season.

Premier League defends sporting sanction

The Premier League has strongly denied suggestions that the integrity of the independent commission that docked Everton ten points was compromised, and said the imposition of a sporting sanction was fair because of those clubs who abide by the rules.

The points were made in a joint letter from the Premier League CEO Richard Masters and its chairwoman Alison Brittain, in response to one sent to them by a trio of high-profile Everton supporters, including the former governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, who branded the club’s points deduction “draconian”.

As reported by The Daily Telegraph, in its letter the Premier League claimed that Everton failed to curb spending during “many months” of warnings, continuing to spend “significantly on transfer fees and wages” even after the alarm was raised.

The letter added that“Everton was provided with complete transparency as to the board’s view on the appropriate sanction in this case.”

 

Manchester United set to appoint new director of football ahead of recruitment and scouting shake-up

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team hope to appoint a new director of football at Manchester United within the next few weeks and have whittled down the search to a couple of names, The Daily Telegraph has reported.

Newcastle’s director of football Dan Ashworth, the former Liverpool sporting director Julian Ward, Crystal Palace’s Dougie Freedman, and former Tottenham Hotspur head of recruitment Paul Mitchell, who went on to a similar role at AS Monaco, are thought to be among those whose credentials have been discussed.

Names from elsewhere in Europe have also been linked to the role, including Atletico Madrid’s Andrea Berta, Cristiano Giuntoli from Juventus, Lee Congerton at Atalanta, and Ricky Masara and Paolo Maldini, who left AC Milan last year.

The Telegraph also reported that the appointment is set to be made ahead of an anticipated purge of United’s existing recruitment and scouting operations, which have been under scrutiny for years.

Insiders have not ruled out those departments being gutted and redrawn as part of an overhaul. “I don’t think there are any sacred cows in this,” one source told the newspaper.

Berrada input

United announced the appointment of Manchester City’s former chief operating officer Omar Berrada as the club’s new CEO earlier this month.

It is understood INEOS wanted Berrada in place first so he could have some valuable input into the choice of director of football given their strong belief that the two men and the manager must “share a vision” and work as a “coherent whole”.

 

LaLiga delays release of final €350 million CVC payment to clubs

LaLiga is delaying the release of the last remaining payment of €350 million from the private equity fund CVC Capital Partners to its clubs as it wants them to present details of how they will spend it.

According to Spanish media reports, LaLiga has written to its clubs saying that "teams have to present a project with justifications that must be approved". Until that evidence arrives, the Spanish league will not disburse the final payment.

€2 billion for growth projects

LaLiga struck its agreement with CVC back in 2021. The firm agreed to invest a total of €2 billion into league-led growth projects in return for an 8.2 per cent share of LaLiga broadcast and sponsorship revenues.

Under LaLiga’s conditions for the project, clubs are permitted to spend up to 70 per cent of funding from the total investment on infrastructure and other growth initiatives, with 15 per cent for servicing debt, and the other 15 per cent for signing players.

 

Stoke City reveal £11.4 million operating loss for 2022/23

Stoke City have reported an operating loss of £11.4 million for the year ending 31st May, 2023, down from £18.2 million the previous year.

A profit on player trading of £15.3 million, up from £10.9 million in 2021/22, helped boost the EFL Championship club’s finances.

However, the club still incurred a net loss of £11 million. The deficit compared with a profit of £101.8 million in 2021/22, although that figure mainly arose from owners bet365 forgiving £120 million of historic debts that had accumulated in support of previous years’ investment and expenditure.

For 2022/23, turnover reached £31.2 million, rising by £30,000, while the club’s wage bill fell to £26.2 million, down from £32.7 million. The operating loss before player sales were included fell to £26.8 million, down from £29.2 million.

Stadium investment

The accounts also showed an £8.3 million net investment in Stoke’s stadium and training ground, including the completion of a refurbished supporters’ bar which reopened in November 2022 as Ricardo’s.

The club noted that this project cost in the region of £2.5 million and forms part of a £30 million five-year programme of investment to enhance facilities for players and fans.

“Replacing the floodlights in the summer of 2023, along with the Club’s announced plans for a Fan Zone at the stadium, form additional parts of that strategy,” it said.

 

FIGC forecasts €1.18 million profit for 2024

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has announced that its budget for 2024 projects a pre-tax profit of €1.18 million.

The budget, which has been unanimously approved by the FIGC Federal Council, forecasts EBITDA of €20 million, with an operating profit of €0.32 million and production value of €206.9 million, with sponsorship revenues set to reach a record high.

FIGC president Gabriele Gravina said: "The growth in the value of the federation's economic production at a time when qualification for the World Cup has not been achieved shows there is an emphasis on activity that aims at a different dimension than sporting results as an end in themselves.

“The sporting result remains fundamental to give enthusiasm, but we focus a lot on innovative and modern design".

Reforms to focus on sustainability

Gravina also commented on the ongoing discussions over reforms to the domestic game in Italy. He said summaries of the options being considered will be contained in a strategic plan for Italian football which Deloitte has been commissioned to produce. Gravina said he intends to present the plan to the Federal Council next month.

"The problem of the reform of Italian football is not only the reform of the championships," the president said. “And it amazes me that they continue in a superficial way to limit all the commitment I am trying to put in place to the format of the championship and the number of teams, whether they should be 20 or 18.

“The central theme is to secure and give meaning, perspective and content to that term so abused in recent times called sustainability.”

Andrea Agnelli, the former Juventus president, has revealed he held talks with Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi over a new European competition months ahead of the botched launch of the European Super League in April 2021.

In an interview with The Financial Times, Agnelli – explaining his version of events surrounding the saga – said that other club owners had previously discussed launching alternative competitions.

He claimed that one project, known as ‘Bohr’, involved Al-Khelaifi. “I remember flying to Paris in the middle of Covid,” the Italian said. “Nobody around. Paris deserted. Me and Nasser have conversations about [a new tournament], saying we need change, because we don’t change, we’re dead.”

A spokesperson for Al-Khelaifi told The Financial Times that “he was open to reforming competitions but always within UEFA’s framework”.

Agnelli also commented on the latest plans for a new competition outlined by A22, the company behind the European Super League project, involving 64 men's and 32 women's teams playing midweek matches in a league system across Europe.

“Give us time to work,” he said. “It’s not like things happen as magic. We find ourselves in a b2b b2c situation . . . We need to find the clubs, which is the [business to business] part, because if we don’t have the clubs to participate within the competition, we can’t reach the c, the consumers.”

Return to Juventus not ruled out

Commenting on his former club, Agnelli – who has received a multi-year ban from holding positions in football – refused to rule out a return to Juventus. The Serie A giants’ former president resigned alongside the entire board of directors in November 2022 following the opening of a police investigation into allegations of false accounting and market manipulation.

Refusing to discuss the details of the ongoing legal case against him and former club executives, Agnelli said: “I remain convinced that everything we’ve done, we’ve done it by the book, according to the financial standards . . . I am super easy.”

 

Manchester United’s new CEO Omar Berrada insists off-field structure is crucial to performance on pitch

Revelations from Manchester United's new CEO, Omar Berrada, about some of the keys to the success of rivals Manchester City have given fresh insight into the potential change of direction set to take place behind the scenes at Old Trafford.

Berrada was poached from his role as chief football operations officer at the City Football Group earlier this month, and the appointment was said to underline the influence of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group at United following its purchase of a 25 per cent stake in the team.

In an interview with Berrada, published by The Financial Times over the weekend and conducted at City’s Etihad campus last November, laid out his operating principles that may hold clues to his approach at United.

“The commercial growth of the clubs is predicated or underpinned by success on the pitch,” he said. “If you have a really good business strategy alongside it, then it just turbocharges the growth off the pitch.”

His view is starkly different from the former United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who once told financial analysts that “playing performance doesn’t really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business”.

“We’ve created a structure”

Berrada, who is now on gardening leave and is expected to officially begin work at Old Trafford this summer, emphasised that improving business performance can smooth out the cyclicality of football, allowing profits to be reinvested into the club, playing squad and facilities.

At City, he helped establish a framework that allowed the club “to make the right decisions and to take the emotions as much as we can out of those decisions,” he explained.

“Our job is to ensure that we’ve created a structure, this ecosystem around everything that we’re doing now to make it as consistent as possible so when there is a downwards cycle, we make it as short as possible”.

Berrada also stressed the importance of having a “football identity” on the pitch supported by a football director who understands a club’s playing style and has a “multiyear view” of what the squad needs to look like, and a coach and staff who believe in the approach.

 

Saudi official hints at desire to invest in Olympique de Marseille

Fresh speculation has emerged linking a potential Saudi move to buy Olympique de Marseille – as well as other French teams, such as AS Monaco – after an official from the country visited France last week.

Prince Abdullah Saad Abdulaziz Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, during a visit reported to be on behalf of the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), told the French media outlet Carré that there may be interest in a possible takeover of Marseille or AS Monaco.

“I think it’s a good investment to invest in French football, maybe OM or Monaco,” he said. “Maybe in the second plan Saudi Arabia will invest. These are good teams, they can fight to be champions.”

Zidane ‘potential coach’ claim

Al Saud, whose authority is not known, did not specify whether he was speaking only on his own behalf or PIF. However, he went on to elaborate on the possibility of French legend Zinedine Zidane becoming the coach at Marseille if a takeover was to materialise.

"I don't know what's going on between Saudi Arabia and Zinedine Zidane about Marseille, but anything is possible,” he said. “Zinedine Zidane is a good coach and he's a legend, of course.”

There have been persistent rumours above a takeover of Marseille – including from Saudi Arabia – ever since the club was acquired by American businessman Frank McCourt back in 2016. However, McCourt has given no indication he wants to sell.

 

Jorg Schmadtke to leave sporting director role at Liverpool

Liverpool have announced that sporting director Jorg Schmadtke is to leave the club at the end of the January transfer window.

The club confirmed his departure on Friday, just hours after manager Jurgen Klopp announced his intention to leave Anfield at the end of the season.

Schmadtke was hired by Liverpool on an initial short-term contract last June. His appointment followed the departure of previous sporting director Julian Ward – who himself had replaced Michael Edwards only a year earlier.

Prior to Schmadtke’s arrival, Liverpool had already begun working on their potential summer transfer activity. The German then oversaw the window, including the signings of Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister.

Similar roles in Germany

Schmadtke previously held similar roles at German clubs Wolfsburg, Cologne, Hannover and Alemannia Aachen.

Commenting on his departure, he said: “Liverpool is a very special club so to have had the opportunity to work here has been a huge honour for me, even though I knew from the outset that it would only be for a short period.”

 

Mediapro loses Canada football rights amid legal dispute with governing body

Mediapro Canada has lost the broadcast rights for the Canadian Premier League (CPL) and the country’s home national team games over a legal dispute with the game’s governing body.

Canadian Soccer Business (CSB), the commercial arm of Canada Soccer and the CPL, has taken back broadcast rights to all of its properties over the dispute, with the parties now headed to court.

CSB has alleged that Mediapro “failed to meet significant contractual obligations, including defaulting on the majority of its rights fees due for 2023 and failure to secure broader audiences for Canada’s national team, the Canadian Champions, and the CPL.”

A key part of the dispute has been Mediapro’s inability to get Canada Soccer’s properties on mainstream media outlets other than Canadian telecoms firm Telus, with cable providers so far unwilling to host its OneSoccer platform on their services. CSB stated: “Our decision to pursue legal action was not one we took lightly, but we felt it was necessary to protect the tremendous investments we have made to build the game in Canada.

“By taking back full control of our rights we will immediately have the opportunity to do so with new partners who have the ability to reach larger audiences.”

Mediapro invested “more than $60 million”

Responding to the allegations, Mediapro said it had invested “more than $60 million to create an ecosystem for the Canadian game and its fans. … We believe that no entity has invested more in Canadian soccer than Mediapro.”

It added: “Despite the huge passion Canadians have for soccer, it has become clear that CSB has been and will be unable to fulfill its side of our commercial agreement. We have made best efforts to work with the CSB on a constructive path forward but have come to a position where we have no choice but to seek to terminate our agreement.”