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 5th February 2018, featuring the Premier League, Champions League, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Alexis Sanchez, Liverpool and Hartlepool.
Premier League TV Deal First Round
The deadline for the first round of bids for Premier League TV rights for 2019 – 2022 passed this Friday with technology giants Facebook, Google and Netflix declining to bid, seeing this bold step into televised football as a step too far currently.
There is growing speculation of an Amazon bid for one of the smaller packages, however the usual suspects Sky and BT are expected to lead the way in live games taken. There is a record 200 Premier League live games available each year for the next 3 seasons.
Football Fans Save Hartlepool
Football fans united to remarkably save Hartlepool’s future by raising the £48k necessary to pay overdue taxes to HMRC to avoid a winding up order coming into effect.
Hartlepool fan Rachel Cartwright set up a just giving page which was promptly filled as Hartlepool fans contributed before it gained publicity and football fans worldwide all came together to help a club in need, and ended up raising nearly double the £48k needed.
Hartlepool will be hoping the worst is behind them now after a terrible twelve months where they were relegated from League 2, dropping to the conference for the first time in 96 years.
Priceless – Mastercard Renew Champions League Deal
Mastercard continue their synonymous partnership with the UEFA Champions League by renewing their deal for 2018 – 2021.
This is the fourth cycle that the two companies will be intertwined with their partnership starting as early as 1994 and are the exclusive payment partner of Europe’s biggest cup competition.
They join Pepsi, Heineken, Nissan and Satander in agreeing commercial deals with UEFA for 2018 – 2021.
North American 2026 World Cup Economic Study Supports Bid
Boston Consulting Group have released a report stating that a North American 2026 World Cup could bring in $5bn of economic activity to the area.
The United States, Mexico and Canada are combining to bid for the 2026 World Cup and such news will excite these countries officials with the competition expected to be able to support 40,000 jobs across the region.
The 2026 World Cup is to be the biggest in history with a record 48 teams competing for the World’s most prestigious football trophy.
Bayern Check-In with Marriott Hotels
Marriott Hotel, the largest hotel chain in the world have become the Official Hotel Partner of the Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich until 2020.
Bayern are perhaps surprisingly the most commercial club in the world, bringing in the most commercial revenue of any club and this will only enhance that by joining forces with another leading brand in their industry.
The partnership will involve the build of a custom-built executive box at the Allianz Arena as special offers for Bayern fans and Marriott club members.
Neymar Electrifies TCL
Brazil’s £200m Superstar Neymar has signed a new endorsement deal to be a brand ambassador for Chinese electronics company TCL.
This is another commercial success for the ever-growing Neymar brand, who is also enjoying a stunning year on the pitch after signing for PSG who are romping to the French Ligue 1 and our one of the favourites for the Champions League.
Manchester City Transfer In AvaTrade
Manchester City and AvaTrade have announced a multi year sponsorship where AvaTrade will become Manchester City’s Official Online Trading Partner in China, Asia and Latin America as Manchester City look to grow their presence worldwide.
AvaTrade is a leading online brokerage and will gain brand exposure through exclusive offers and giveaways for Manchester City experiences to their customers.
This is just one of a number of recent commercial deals signed by the Premier League Champions in waiting as they look to grow commercially and financially.
Adidas Win From Sanchez Deal
Manchester United have announced that the signing of Alexis Sanchez has smashed their previous record shirt sales by 3 times the prior record.
The huge domestic transfer has undoubtedly cause a buzz with Manchester United beating their Manchester rivals to the signing of their domestic rivals best player, creating a huge demand in shirts with the No.7 on the back.
It is an even more outstanding feat being mid season, with most fans purchasing their kits at the beginning of the season.
This news will be music to the ears of Adidas who will profit the most from the deal, gaining most the shirt sale revenue as part of their £75m a year deal with Manchester United, and will be hoping to recoup a sizeable portion as part of this deal.
MediaPro Win Serie A Race
Spanish Media Company MediaPro have won the race for the Italian Serie A rights for 2018 – 2021, paying €1.05bn the minimum threshold required by Serie A who will be slightly disappointed but also relieved the process is over.
Sky Italia missed out and not one to go quietly are calling on Serie A to reject the deal as they claim MediaPro will not act as the actual broadcaster, with MediaPro rumoured to be planning to help Serie A launch its own channels, taking care of scheduling and editorial matters, making them a glorified intermediary.
Sky will be hoping their challenge is successful as they look to continue their stranglehold on televised football.
Alexis Sanchez Avoids Prison Time
Alexis Sanchez is the latest player to fall foul of Spanish tax law after accepting a 16 month suspended jail sentence for tax fraud, avoiding a trial in the process.
The case relates to unpaid taxes amounting to £886k from image rights deals in 2012 and 2013 during his time in Spain at Barcelona. The Chilean’s agent has denied his client any wrongdoing and had “fully obeyed” laws and his image rights income “has been declared”.
Liverpool Petro-Canada Lubricants
Liverpool have announced a three-year deal with Petro-Canada Lubricants with the Canadian lubricant manufacturer being able to offer exclusive Liverpool offers for its customers.
Manchester United Second Quarter Financial Results
Manchester United announced their second quarter results this week, with revenue up 4% on last year due mainly to increased broadcasting revenue (up 17%) from a return to the Champions League and more Premier League live games than last season at this stage.
Profits before tax were down nearly 5% due to rising costs suffered by the Manchester Club despite record revenues.
Debt levels were down 20%, leading to financing costs falling an incredible 64.2% which will seem to be a step in the right directions for the heavily financed Premier League giants.
As a publicly listed company in America, Manchester United are required to report their financial performance every 3 months, with an annual financial performance review in the final quarter of their financial year.
For a detailed review of their second quarter performance click here.
