The Political Economy of Football V2

Bruno Guimaraes’ £75million move from Newcastle United to Arsenal gives more supporting evidence to several recent themes. At 28 years old, the sizeable outlay on the Brazilian midfielder continues Arsenal’s ploy of spending big money on players who can immediately improve their first team. A year ago, their roughly £185million in fees on players aged over 24 was the most ever spent on that cohort by an English club in a single season. A first Premier League title in 22 years comprised proof of concept. In the 12 years to the end of June 2025, Newcastle generated £352million from player sales. A reasonable estimate, even after sell-on clauses and solidarity payments to former clubs, has them matching that figure inside the past 12 months. Such statistics say lots about where Arsenal and Newcastle are as clubs, but the Guimaraes deal also underscores what is fast becoming a Premier League motif: the richest teams are ever more frequently plucking the best players from the rest of ...

  Much interest has been generated by a group of wealthy investors wanting to take a stake in Liverpool FC.   Why would they want such a stake and would the club benefit? Bhatia, a former co-owner of Championship side Queens Park Rangers, is joined by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and co-founder of Facebook Eduardo Saverin as part of the group interested in purchasing a stake in the English Premier League side. Bezos, 62, is one of the richest people in the world, best known as being the founder of the largest e-commerce company, Amazon.    Bezos launched Amazon from his own garage in 1994 after he had left his role at New York Investment Bank D.E. Shaw, where he had risen to senior vice-president. It was initially an online merchant of books before growing into the global technology company it has become today. He stepped down as the company’s chief executive officer in 2021. Bezos is also the owner of the Washington Post and founder of space technology company...

Derby County have been left stunned after Saudi Arabian boxing powerbroker Turki Al-Sheikh backed out of a proposed deal to buy a majority stake in the Championship club at the 11th hour. The Times revealed in May that Al-Sheikh, an adviser in Saudi Arabia’s royal court who serves as the head of the General Entertainment Authority, was in advanced talks to purchase Derby from David Clowes, who saved the club from liquidation in 2022. Al-Sheikh satisfied the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) and the English Football League (EFL) that his wealth was separate to that of the Saudi Public Investment Fund and was cleared to complete the deal last week. However, in an about-face that shocked Derby chiefs, Al-Sheikh abruptly called off the takeover on Monday, five days before the beginning of the season. A statement from Derby read: “The club can confirm discussions with Lion Sport [the group headed by Al-Sheikh] to buy a controlling interest in Derby County will no longer proceed...

Lawyers are increasingly the key actors in football clubs, but defamation actions are rare. Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is suing Crystal Palace for defamation over a banner the London club’s fans held up in August 2025 which depicted him holding a gun to midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White which read: “Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match-fixing, drug trafficking or corruption.” The FA deemed Palace had not done enough to stop their supporters behaving in an improper, offensive, abusive or provocative way during the 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park. The governing body said in a statement: “The fact that Crystal Palace had a policy to prevent banners being smuggled into the stadium demonstrates that it was aware of the risk.”   The club was fined £50,000. Gibbs-White had come close to leaving Forest to join Tottenham last summer, but instead signed a new contract to stay at Forest. Now Marinakis is seeking damages after filing a defamation claim a...

Liverpool Football Club’s owner Fenway Sports Group is closing in on a deal to sell a significant minority stake in the business to investors including Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder is part of a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of steel tycoon and billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, which is set to buy about a third of the Premier League side, reports the Financial Times. A deal, which the FT previously reported may value the club at more than $6bn, could come as soon as this week, according to two people with knowledge of the talks. However, one warned that the deal was not finalised and the timing could slip. Fenway and the consortium declined to comment. Bezos’s inclusion in the consortium highlights the global reach of Liverpool and the Premier League, which has transformed from a domestic competition into one of the UK’s biggest cultural exports. The incoming investor group also includes Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, the people said. Saverin was part of a wider co...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble explains the new Squad Control Rules operative in the Championship. The full analysis is available on his Substack page. As the 2026/27 season approaches, clubs in the EFL Championship will have to comply with a new set of financial regulations, as a new Squad Cost Rules (SCR) financial framework will replace the previous Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). The SCR system will limit a club’s spending on player and manager-related costs to 85% of its income, alongside a limited level of owner funding. In the May press release, the allowable equity injection was given as £33m over a three-year period (up to a maximum of £15m a season).   However, this has been slightly increased according to the recently published 2026/27 regulations, so the three-year allowance is now £34.3m, while the maximum per season is up to £16m. The EFL listed a number of objectives behind the move from PSR to SCR: Create a simpler and more responsiv...