Category: Financial Football News Round-Up

Here is your weekly financial football news round-up to keep you up to date with all things financial football! This is your round-up for the week commencing 16th April 2018, featuring Liverpool, Serie A, La Liga, Manchester City and the Premier League.

FIFA Fines For Third Party Ownership 

FIFA have handed out fines to large Portuguese and Spanish clubs for breaking third party transfer ownership rules. 

Third party ownership has long been banned in Europe after it began to lead to undue influence on football clubs from outsiders to the detriment of competition and fairness.

Benfica (€125k), Sporting Lisbon (€92k), Celta Vigo (€54k) and Rayo Vallecano (€46k) were all punished as FIFA continue their crackdown on outside interferences in football.

MediaPro Serie A Suspension 

The long running Serie A TV rights deal saga is back on after Sky Italia went to court in Milan over the rights, leading to a suspension of MediaPro’s sale of the rights to third parties.

Sky went to court seeking verification of whether Spanish rights broker Mediapro’s tender conformed to Italian law.

MediaPro are looking to sell on the rights to third parties, an unusual process for football TV right deals which has caused the issues. 

MediaPro brought the rights for around €1.05bn with Sky unwilling to match that bid, however they refuse to lie down and lose the rights they held for the previous 3 year cycle.

Liverpool In Hot Water Over Tibet Water Deal

Liverpool are being called by local MPs to end their association with Chinese water firm Tibet Water over human rights issues.

The deal, signed in 2017 to make Tibet Water their official Chinese Water Partner is being scolded as the company are only able to operate in Tibet due to China’s occupation of the region, an apparent breach of human rights.

Local MPs have declared it “is not consistent with the values promoted in the club, and we are calling on Liverpool FC to terminate the agreement.”

Liverpool are in a difficult position due to the apparent ethical issues here while cancelling the deal will damage their relationship with Chinese officials, they will be hoping an amicable solution can be found.

La Liga Clubs Count The Cash

La Liga clubs flexed their growing financial muscle after it was announced Spanish clubs pulled in record revenues of €3.7bn in the 16/17 season, representing 13.6% increase on the previous campaign.

Broadcasting revenue more than doubled from €0.7bn to €1.5bn. The remainder of the revenue comprised €0.7bn in commercial revenue, €0.5bn in transfers, €0.7bn in matchday with €0.3m from other sources.

SeatGeek Top Of The Class After Manchester City Deal

Manchester City have announced a partnership with Mobile-focused ticketing platform SeatGeek, becoming the club’s official primary ticketing partner.

This another big deal for SeatGeek who now operate with 25% of Premier League clubs as they continue to grow in the UK.

La Liga’s US Mission Has Lift-Off

La Liga are close to announcing a deal with a “massive US conglomerate” in a deal that will support the Spanish League’s growth in the US market as they look to dominate this market and increase revenues in a massive growth strategy for the league.

This is part of strategy to increase revenues to €2.3bn (currently €1.65bn) per season from TV rights in the next 3 years as they look to become more financially competitive with the Premier League.

Premier League Top 6 – Show Me The Money

Premier League clubs are at loggerheads after the top 6 have begun demanding a larger share of the TV rights as they look to increase their revenue.

These clubs want a larger amount (currently 20%) of the TV money to be distributed according to each clubs final league position. Premier League executive chairman Richard Scuddamore has tendered potentially increasing this to 35%, however this would see the bottom club receive £25m from overseas rights compared to the current £39m they receive, a 56% drop.

For the plans to be pushed through, the Top 6 need 8 of the remaining 14 teams (57%) to approve the plans which seems unlikely with those in the bottom half likely to see their revenue drop. West Ham, Leicester and Everton have reportedly been persuaded, leaving another 5 needed to get the green light.

A resolution is expected at the annual general meeting (AGM) in June.

Roma To Scoot With Zig Zag

Italian giants and Champions League Semi-Finalist have secured a peculiar new commercial partnership, announcing their first ever official scooter partner with a company called Zig Zag.

The deal will allow users to hire a three-wheeled scooter via an app or its website. As part of the deal, fans who decide to use the service can get their first 30 minutes on a Zig Zag scooter free of charge. They’ll also be able to take advantage of special prices to and from the Stadio Olimpico on matchdays throughout 2018.

The deal will also include designated parking spaces outside the ground and follows similar travel deals agreed with Roma after Germany rental car company Car2Go and Uber were announced last year.

Please follow and like us:

Here is your weekly financial football news round-up to keep you up to date with all things financial football! This is your round-up for the week commencing 9th April 2018, featuring Serie A, Arsenal, World Cup, Manchester City, PSG, Tottenham and Barcelona.

MediaPro put Serie A Rights on the Market

MediaPro’s recently won Serie A TV rights have been put on the market by the company who are acting as intermediaries in the deal.

MediaPro always intended to buy the rights and then sell them on at a profit, they brought the rights for around €1bn.

$25bn Club World Cup Bid

Japanese Bank Soft Bank are leading a consortium who aim to buy the rights to the Club World Cup for a astronomical $25bn. 

The offer is for the Club World Cup which will be played every four years by the top 24 club level teams, commencing in 2021, while a new national team competition would take place every two years.

FIFA would have a 51% stake in the joint venture with the remainder held by the consortium who would also guarantee revenues of at least $25 billion.

The offer is for the period 2021 to 2033 and expires in 60 days.

Interestingly this offer will compete with UEFA, being a direct competitor to the Champions League, potentially reducing their revenues which in turn may reduce prize money available to clubs. It will also be seen as competition to the new UEFA Nations League.

Arsenal To Turn To Adidas ??

Arsenal have been strongly linked with a new kit deal with Adidas who are on the lookout for a top tier club to add to their strong portfolio.

Arsenal’s current £30m a year deal with Puma ends next season and will expect a bumper rise if they leave for Adidas, despite their poor form this season.

Russian Government $290m Legacy Plan For World Cup

Russian Government have announced plans to spend nearly $300m on a legacy programme after the conclusion of this year’s World Cup.

The plan, order by Vladimir Putin, will be spent on keeping the stadiums open for use in football and other events, with around $200m to come from Governments budget as they look to create income from the World Cup well into the future.

PSG in FFP Hot Water

PSG have held talks with UEFA around their Financial Fair Play (FFP) compliance. The French champions have been treading carefully on the edge of what is acceptable to FFP for the last couples years, concluding in the huge summer deals for Neymar and Mbappe (who is actually on loan this season, being brought permanently this summer).

The issues are around the club’s income which needs to effectively match their spending, with PSG accused of inflating their sponsorship income in order to meet the requirements as this comes from Qatar Airways, who are also owned by their owners.

Should they be deemed to of failed FFP, sanctions such as fines or a Champions League ban are possible.

ICC Cup First Women’s Event

The high profile summer International Champions Cup (ICC), featuring some of the largest European clubs in pre-season over in the US, will this year for the first time feature a women’s event as the women’s game continues to gain in popularity.

The five year old event will feature only 4 women’s teams in Manchester City, Paris St.-Germain, the N.W.S.L.’s North Carolina Courage and a fourth club, however such an event will still be seen as progress for the women’s game.

Manchester City Go Gaming With Nexon

Newly crowned Premier League champions Manchester City have signed a partnership with Korean gaming company Nexon, who will be serving as the official EA Sports Fifa Online gaming partner in South Korea as the eSports industry continues to grow.

In addition, Nexon is planning to draft an official Manchester City ‘Fifa Online 4’ ambassador from the upcoming ‘FIFA Online 4’ tournaments.

Huddersfield Find A Diamond In Umbro Deal

Umbro have increased their Premier League portfolio to 4 with the signing of Huddersfield Town for next season.

Adding to AFC Bournemouth, Everton and West Ham United, the deal runs from next season until the end of the 2022 as Huddersfield look to increase their commercial revenue for next season.

Barcelona Get Green Light On Nou Camp Redevelopment

Barcelona this week received approval to redevelop the Nou Camp, with works to commence next year.

The redevelopment is expected to cost the club a whopping €600 million and will increase the capacity of the stadium to a huge 105,000 seats. 

Barca will fund the project but president Josep Maria Bartomeu said the huge cost would not affect their ability to sign players.

Tottenham Gamble On New Fun88 Deal

Tottenham have expanded their deal with official betting partner Fun88 to also cover Asia and Latin America.

The new deal has also extended their existing partnership that began in 2016 to a “long-term” deal.

Fun88 also have a shirt sponsorship deal with Newcastle as they look to increase their brand awareness in the UK.

CEIS New Contract Length Study

The latest study by CIES Football Observatory has concluded that Barcelona having the longest average contract length on their players, suggesting loyalty does pay.

Only Barcelona, Real Madrid, Lille, Tottenham and Atletico Madrid have average contract lengths of 3 or more years, with 4 of these being some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Tottenham (4), Manchester City (8) and Liverpool (11) were the best performing Premier League clubs with Chelsea (28), Arsenal (49) and Manchester United (54) not doing as well.

Crystal Palace Stadium Redevelopment Update

Crystal Palace are closing in on approval of their Selhurst Park expansion to 34,000 seats with voting due next week.

The redevelopment that is expected to cost around £100m, also includes the commitment by the South London club to rehouse local residents affected and also spend £300,000 on infrastructure around the ground, particularly to improve access to local railway stations, footpaths and cycle routes.

If approved, work is expected to start at the end of next season with completion scheduled for 2021, if not Crystal face will not be able to seek approval until 2022.

AYR United Paid In BitCoin By New Sponsor!

A global first has occurred in an unlikely place as Ayr United have been paid by their new sponsors Bodog … In BITCOIN!

Scottish League 1 side Ayr United announced the partnership with online gambling company Bodog after the company paid using cryptocurrency Bitcoin BCH, it remains to be seen if this will become commonplace over the next few years.

Please follow and like us:

Here is your weekly financial football news round-up to keep you up to date with all things financial football! This is your round-up for the week commencing 2nd April 2018, featuring the Premier League, PSG, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tinder, Real Madrid and Samsung.

Agents Get Richer

The Football Association (FA) have announced a staggering 21% increase in agents fees paid by Premier League clubs after a record £211m was paid to agents during this season.

Liverpool topped the charts after their record breaking purchase of Virgin Van Djik, paying £26.8m, followed by Chelsea (£25m), Manchester City (£23m) and Manchester United (£18m).

Only Burnley, Brighton, Huddersfield and West Bromwich Albion paid less than £5m to agents during the season.

This has led to more regulation and scrutiny being sought around agents and how they are paid and the incentives that they have to move players around.

Manchester City’s Date With Tinder

Manchester City have announced a multi-year partnership with dating app Tinder. 

The lucrative deal is believed to be worth a few million to Manchester City and also covers Manchester City’s Women’s team as well as New York City. 

SPFL Prize Money Increased

The Scottish Premier Football League have announced record prize money to it’s clubs, increasing last years figure 3.5% to £23.7m as they look to make the league more competitive.

However the largest difference in prize money is between first and second, with the winners taking home £3.2m compared to the runner up who will take £2.3m. 

Manchester United Cash In With PingAN Bank

Manchester United have announced a new Chinese commercial partnership with Chines bank PingAn Bank.

As part of the deal, Manchester United fans in China will be able to apply for Manchester United branded credit cards with the deal also allowing PingAn access to Manchester United ambassadors to enhance their marketing campaigns.

PSG Soften Up With Nivea Deal

PSG have extended their partnership with Nivea Men to cover Brazil.

The new deal which began in 2013, will lead to the creation of a new marketing campaign for Nivea featuring PSG’s top talents, including Brazilian superstar Neymar.

Real Madrid And Samsung Partner Up

Real Madrid has announced an exclusive video content partnership with Samsung in Spain.

As part of the deal, Samsung will offer exclusive content via twitter to Real Madrid fans such as player interviews, dressing room exclusives and press releases as both clubs look to exploit their massive social media presences.

Financial Results

A new flurry of financial results have been released – all will be analysed by FFN! Summaries below:

Burnley

Derby

Fulham

Leeds 

Middlesbrough

Tottenham

Please follow and like us:

Here is your weekly financial football news round-up to keep you up to date with all things financial football! This is your round-up for the week commencing 26th March 2018, featuring Barcelona, Belgium, UEFA, City Football Group, Southampton and Huddersfield.

No To Nou Camp Expansion After Delay

Barcelona have had a setback off the pitch as regulatory barriers halt the commencement of their planned stadium expansion.

Barcelona are looking to expand their stadium by roughly 6,000 seats with the creation of Johan Cruyff Stand which will boost the Nou Camp’s stadium capacity to a phenomenal 105,000.

The commencement of the works is now not expected until the end of next season at the earliest.

Icy Cool Belgium’s Watch Deal

The Belgium FA has agreed a partnership deal with watchmaker’s Ice Watch ahead of their World Cup Campaign.

Belgium, who are in the same World Cup group as England, have also seen key player Eden Hazard become an official brand manager of Ice Watch.

As part of the deal Ice Watch will launch a Belgium branded collection of watches.

UEFA Announce Nation League Prize Fund

UEFA has announced a huge £67m prize fund for the first ever Nations League, with the winners set to pocket a sizeable £6.5m.

The new competition features all 55 UEFA nations, with the top 12 seeds all receiving at least £1.3m and additional £1.3m is available for group winners.

For tier 2, 3 and 4 prize money will be reduced with teams set to gain £900k, £655k and £437k respectively

England have been drawn in Group A4 alongside Spain and Croatia.

CFG Chinese Mission

City Football Group (CFG) continue their investment search with a move for a Chinese club reportedly high on their wish-list.

Tom Glick, chief commercial officer of CFG, said : “I think it’s very likely we’ll do some more (acquisitions) and we’re looking at a number of places across the globe. There are a number of very interesting markets and healthy leagues with great upsides so we’re looking at a number of places, including places in Asia.”

CFG currently have a 6 team portfolio of Manchester City, New York City, Melbourne City, Girona, Yokohama F Marinos and CA Torque.

More Financial Results

Another raft of English clubs (see below) have released their financial results for the 2016/17 season.

Follow us for in-depth analysis of them all!

Bournemouth

Huddersfield 

Southampton

West Brom

Please follow and like us:

Here is your weekly financial football news round-up to keep you up to date with all things financial football! This is your round-up for the week commencing 12th March 2018, featuring Dortmund, PSG, BT Sports, New Balance, Serie A and Manchester City.

Bangkok Airways Land In Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have announced a commercial partnership with Thai airline Bangkok Airways and will work with the German clubs soccer school programme.

As part of the deal, Dortmund and Bangkok will join forces in many co-branded marketing campaigns in Thailand, China, Hong Kong, India and Bangladesh.

BT Sports Extend English Conference Deal

BT Sports have extended their long running TV deal with the English Vanarama conference, the 5th tier in English football.

The deal has been extended for three years until the end of the 2021 season and will be a financial boost to all teams in the division.

This will mean BT Sports have shown live games in the Conference for 8 years, since 2013.

Volvo Cruise to Besiktas Partnership

Turkish giants Besiktas have announced a lucrative deal with automobile giants Volvo until the end of the 2019 season.

The deal will include the great perk for Besiktas of being provided vehicles for the club’s travel arrangements while Besiktas will take the naming rights of the lounge area in the Besiktas stadium  as part of the deal.

This continues a drive by Besiktas to remain competitive in the Champions League after a good run this season to the knockout stages.

PSG Asian Mission Grows With Desports

PSG continue their commercial drive with the appointment of Asian sporting agency Desports as they look to grow their global reach in China.

Desports will act as exclusive agents of PSG in China and Hong Kong until the end of the 2021 season at the very least with the goal of attracting as many and as lucrative as possible sponsorship deals in China to improve their popularity in Asia.

Seventh Heaven for Bundesliga 

The German Bundesliga have agreed to continue their commercial relationships with London sporting agency Seven League for the foreseeable future.

The deal began in 2017 on an initial 6 month trial, however such has been its success its been extended until 2019 at the very least.

Seven League are responsible for managing and improving the digital partnerships the Bundesliga have internationally as they look to increase revenue from media rights, sponsorship, licensing and digital services for the German league.

Porto Rebalances With New Balance

Portuguese giants Porto have signed a huge extension to their kit deal with US sports brand New Balance until 2025 as the US company look to increase their brand presence  in Europe’s top leagues.

Porto have been delighted with the impact of the deal as since the deal began in 2014, Porto says that its global retail sales have increased by 91 per cent.

Porto will be hoping for similar results in the future to help the club be more competitive in Europe once again.

Puma Pounce for Manchester City Deal

As previously detailed, Manchester City have agreed a hugely lucrative new kit deal with Puma, who have blown Nike out of the water in terms offered to the soon to be Premier League deal.

Nike’s deal with Manchester City is to expire at the end of next season and Manchester City have already agreed to fly the nest, joining Puma in a £45m a year deal as they look to capitalise on this season’s successes.

MediaPro Serie A Deal Approved

The long protracted Serie A TV rights deal sale has been concluded as MediaPro’s bid of just over €1bn has finally been approved.

The deal was up in the air after Sky challenged the legitimacy of the operation as Spanish broker MediaPro act as more of an intermediary than a TV broadcaster in the deal as they will sell on the rights themselves to make a profit.

Goals Soccer Centres Profits Surge

Popular UK company Goals Soccer Centres have announced a huge surge in pre-tax profits, more than doubling to £8.2m from £3.7m.

The company has 460 arenas across the UK and now look to expand abroad, targeting the US in a joint venture with Manchester City’s parent company City Football Group who own MLS side New York City.

Directors On The Move

Here is a list of Director movement at English clubs this week:

• West Brom
  • In: Simon Carrington

Premier League and Championship Financial Analysis’

A raft of clubs have released their accounts in the last couple weeks, see below for analysis of these and more in the coming weeks:

Manchester City Financial Review 2018

`Liverpool Financial Review 2018

Leicester Financial Review 2018

Swansea Financial Review 2018

Watford Financial Review 2018

Please follow and like us:

Here is your weekly financial football news round-up to keep you up to date with all things financial football! This is your round-up for the week commencing 12th February 2018, featuring the Premier League, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Manchester United, Barcelona, the Bundesliga and the Champions League.

Puma Pounce On AC Milan

AC Milan suffered a huge blow as Adidas decided to end their 10 year contract with the Italian giant 5 years early, however AC Milan have quickly turned to Puma who will sponsor their shirts from next season.

Adidas have partnered AC Milan for 20 seasons, agreeing a new 10 year contract worth €20m a year in 2013, however Adidas obviously do not believe they are getting their moneys worth and have decided to end their long relationship.

The new deal with Puma is worth only €12m a year, a 60% reduction on their current deal as AC Milan continue to struggle to climb back to their position as a European giant.

Manchester United Get Their Medicine In Cho-A Pharm Deal

Manchester United have extended their deal with South Korean pharmaceutical company Cho-A Pharm as the club’s official pharmaceuticals partner in South Korea and Vietnam.

Cho-A Pharm began their relationship with Manchester United in 2014 as Manchester United looked to grow their already global presence.

The deal involves a range of innovative events, raising the brand image and product awareness of Cho-A Pharm while giving Manchester United fans in South Korea and Vietnam the chance to experience the Old Trafford experience.

Barcelona’s Double Cash In with Beko and Damm Deals

Barcelona have had an excellent week commercially, firstly securing a €57m a year deal with electronics company Beko to become their new Training shirts sponsorship.

They have signed a 3 year deal with the Watford based company which is worth more than 14 of the Premier League teams actual shirts deals!

Barcelona also extended their 15 year partnership with beer company Damm on a four year contract worth €7m a year in what has been an incredibly lucrative week for the club.

Sky Sports Wins In Premier League TV Rights Battle

TV rights look set to fall for the first time after 5 of the 7 packages available sold for £4.4bn, down from the £5.1bn paid last year.

Despite two packages remaining, many experts are not expecting these to sell for much with the packages for 20 less attractive mid week games.

Sky have won the majority of games, with a record 128 games to be televised at a cost of £3.5bn, while BT Sports have taken 32 games at a cost fo around £900k at higher cost per game basis, making Sky the big winners of this auction.

Amazon are rumoured to be preparing a bid for one of the two remaining packages.

Wanda Cashes In On Atletico Madrid Stake

Dalian Wanda Group has sold the majority of their 20% stake (17%) in Atletico Madrid to Quantum Pacific Group as the Chinese conglomerate need to pay down $1.7bn in  debt.

Quantum Pacific Group is a huge shipping and energy company who currently own a 15% stake in Atletico Madrid as they look to build a majority shareholding.

Wanda Group will continue to sponsor Atletico Madrid while they retain a 3% stake in the Spanish club.

Bundesliga Is Booming With Record Revenues

Germany’s Bundesliga 1 and 2 have reported record revenues for the 13th consecutive years as German clubs broke the €4bn revenue barrier.

Revenues grew 4.2% compared to last year at just over €4bn, with the Bundesliga generating €3.4bn of this revenue, making the league second only to the Premier League in revenue, even greater an accomplishment considering it is an 18 team league.

Despite record revenue, profits were down to €150m from €206m last year, potentially due to clubs spending more on transfers and wages as they look to compete in Europe after a difficult couple of years in European competitions.

SPFL Sky Sports TV Rights Talks

Sky Sports have begun talks with the Scottish Premier Football League (SPFL) on an improved TV deal, the current £21m a year deal ends in 2020.

They will face competition from BT Sports who also televise some Scottish football matches, with BT potentially wanting the entire TV deal in order to ensure they can televise Rangers v.s. Celtic games, the biggest fixture in Scotland.

Quest’s Quest For EFL Ends In Victory

Freeview Channel Quest have surprisingly won the rights to show English Football League highlights from next season, taking the low key highlights from Channel 5.

The EFL highlights have been shown on Channel 5 for the last 3 seasons, however they have only garnered average viewership of 500,000 which was much lower than expected.

It will be interesting to see whether Quest will be able to garner interest with many never hearing of the channel, while EFL goal highlights can also be seen on Sky Sports News.

GazProm To Fuel The Champions League

Energy giants Gazprom join the fleet of companies currently renewing their partnerships with the UEFA Champions League for the 2018 – 2021 cycle.

The join Santander, Mastercard, Heineken, Nissan and PepsiCo in continuing their Champions League journey.

Bundesliga Ownership Revolution?

A huge Bundesliga financial revolution may be on the cards as the clubs are due to debate abolishing the 50+1 rule prohibiting foreign ownership due to the growing financial firepower of their European rivals in England, Spain, France and Italy.

Current rules mean that club members must own at least 51% of German football clubs, therefore foreigners can never own the majority of a German club, making it less attractive an investment proposition compared to their European rivals.

Stadium Naming Rights – Money Talks

A new study by Duff & Phelps has estimated how much Premier League clubs could sell their Stadium naming rights for with Manchester United missing out on £26m a year, £7m more than anyone else.

This could become common practice in the Premier League with Manchester City and Arsenal already in long-term deals with the airlines Etihad and Emirates, while Chelsea and Tottenham are expected to sell naming rights to their proposed new stadiums.

This could be another area that clubs could grow their critical commercial revenues, a full table can be found at the end of this article.

Bayern Munich Go All American

Bayern Munich have signed a partnership with MLS side FC Dallas as they look to nab bright youth prospect and create a large presences in the growing US soccer market.

Bayern have had a New York office since 2014 and have now signed this youth development partnership which will allow young FC Dallas players to experience training with Bayern as the United States look to improve the quality of their soccer stars.

Please follow and like us: