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Are United 'trading off their history'?

Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s former executive vice-chair, claimed to analysts in 2018 that the team’s “playing performance doesn’t really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business”. United’s ongoing struggles on the pitch since then are bringing that assertion into question. After increasing its commercial revenues by a total of just 10 per cent over the past six seasons, the club has been leapfrogged by its two biggest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, which between them have won nine out of the previous 12 Premier League titles since United’s last triumph in 2013. Even after a 15th-place finish last year, and a failure to qualify for the lucrative Champions League, United’s commercial revenues remain commensurate with the most successful clubs in world football.   Andy Green, finance director at Manchester United Supporters Trust and head of investment at private equity firm Rockpool Investments, warned the Financial Times tha...
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Barca still can't play home matches at Camp Nou

The 2025-26 season has already begun, but it is not yet clear where Barcelona are going to play their home matches.  Barca have not played at their Camp Nou ground since starting a €1.5billion (£1.3bn; $1.8bn) refurbishment project in June 2023, hosting games at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys across the city while works progress. Club president Joan Laporta has repeatedly said that returning to the 105,000-capacity remodelled stadium as soon as possible is crucial to boosting their troubled finances. The latest target for their return was their La Liga game against Valencia, currently scheduled for September 14 (although the date may be moved across that weekend). The plan was to reopen the Camp Nou at a reduced capacity of about 27,000. That would also make the stadium available for the league phase of the Champions League, which begins a few days later. However, the project continues to hit delays over factors within and beyond the club’s control, as  The Athletic ...

What do Premier League fans think of their prospects?

Fans see Liverpool as most likely to win the league, though most Arsenal and Man City fans also believe they have a realistic chance of the title  Ahead of Liverpool vs Bournemouth kicking off the new Premier League season on Friday, a new YouGov* study looks at fans’ hopes and expectations for the 2025-26 competition. What do Premier League fans see as realistic for their teams in the 2025-26 season? While most fans are optimistic of their teams’ chances this season, their sights are set at different levels.   Among the ten clubs with fanbase samples large enough for us to look at in detail, just three teams’ fans primarily think topping the league is within their grasp. Three quarters (75%) of Liverpool fans say they can realistically hope to retain the title, while 59% of Manchester City supporters and 55% of Arsenal fans believe they can win the league this season. Topping the table is an ambition also held by 32% of Chelsea supporters, though most (56%) see qualifyi...

The growth of debt in football, and the big debtors

After many years when Premier League debt levels were relatively flat, this has really taken off in the last few years, rising from £3.2 bln in 2017 to a high of £5.2 bln in 2020. This then dropped to “only” £4.0 bln in 2021/22, but the decrease was a bit misleading, as it was only due to Chelsea writing-off £1.5 bln of debt following Roman Abramovich’s forced sale of the club. Over half of the debt is at just three clubs, namely Everton £1.0 bln (new stadium and squad investment), Tottenham £851m (new stadium) and Manchester United £547m (the lingering effects of the Glazers’ leveraged buyout).   In addition, four other clubs owe more than £300m (Arsenal £342m, Liverpool £314m, Chelsea £303m and Brighton £300m). In the Premier League, 41% of the financial debt was from the club’s owners, while 59% was external debt.   However, as you work your way down the leagues, it is often the case that the majority of a club’s debt is provided by the owner, e.g. in the EFL Champion...

Place your bets

A ban on bookies' logos on the fronts of players' shirts is looming in 2026.   Meanwhile, half the Premier League clubs have bookies as their front shirt sponsors for the new season.  Brentford, Sunderland and West Ham have announced new deals this summer.   The voluntary ban was collectively agreed by the Premier League in April 2023. Clubs with betting firms as front shirt sponsors will face a 40 per cent fall in front shirt revenue when they have to ditch the front shirt logos as betting firms generally pay above the marker rate.   Deals can be worth as much as £23m a season. Betting firms will still be able to have logos on players' shorts or sleeves.   They also spemd heavily on perimeter advertising. The Government has been talking about 'sin taxes' on gambling to raise revenue.  Indeed, the horse racing industry is planning a day's strike in protest, not that many people have noticed. You rarely see a poor bookie or betting firm....

Palace at a crossroads

Should Palace avoid defeat in both legs of their UEFA Conference League play-off against Norwegian club Fredrikstad, and again on Sunday when they host Nottingham Forest, then they will equal their club record of 13 games unbeaten in all competitions while a top-flight side. Palace have an outstanding starting XI and a manager who has proven not only to be adept at bringing the best out of his team in his system, but also relatively adaptable within that system. With appropriate additions to replace any departures and strengthen the backup options, this Palace side surely could compete for a place in Europe via their league position.    This feels like a club at a crossroads and the fear will be that success is not built upon. The worry is that, if Glasner does not feel he is being sufficiently backed, he might well depart next summer when his contract expires — if not before. It would be a travesty to throw away the chance to push on. As always, some people will ar...