The Political Economy of Football V2

Last night’s victory at Fulham was a significant one for West Ham and gives them hope of staying up.  However, major challenges remain.  Things look no better for West Ham off the pitch, as they swung from a £57m pre-tax profit to a £104m loss in 2024/25, the worst result in the club’s history. The following report summarises the forensic analysis of the Zurich based football finance guru Swiss Ramble.    Much more in depth analysis is available on his Substack phase. This represented a massive £161m deterioration in the bottom line, largely driven by profit on player sales falling £76m from £96m to £20m, while revenue also dropped £42m (16%) from £270m to £228m.   West Ham’s £104m loss is the second largest so far reported for 2024/25, only surpassed by Tottenham’s £127m (according to UEFA’s Club Finance and Investment Landscape report). Despite the steep reduction in the top line, operating expenses still rose £29m (9%) from £307m to £366m, while interes...

Brentford FC has announced that it has strengthened its ownership base with additional investment and the appointment of two new directors to the board of its holding company, Best Intentions Analytics Limited. Prakash Melwani, a longtime senior executive at Blackstone, and Sir Lucian Grainge CBE, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, have joined the board of Best Intentions Analytics, which serves as the holding company for Brentford FC and Mérida AD. They join existing investors Gary Lubner and Sir Matthew Vaughn, whose respective companies have each increased their minority shareholdings in the ownership group. Matthew Benham remains the majority owner of Brentford FC, having taken full control of the club in 2012. Gary Lubner and Sir Matthew Vaughn initially became minority shareholders in July 2025 through their companies This Day Sports and Media Limited and MARV Bee Limited. The increased investment reinforces the group’s commitment to supporting Brentford’s continued...

The Daily Mirror was far from complementary about the defeat Tottenham Hotspur suffered at the Cottage on Sunday,    Journos had fun with 'Tottenham Rotspur', 'St. Totteingham Day' and 'Spurs stinker'. Interim coach Igor Tufor tore into his players and said they lacked quality in attack, in taking scoring chances, in the midfield and at the back. I am not a betting man, but if I was I would put money on Spurs staying up and Forest going down.  However, I also think that there are deeper structural problems at Spurs that can't be solved by changing the manager or bringing in some new players in the summer. Tottenham’s commercial success — turbocharged by the likes of Beyoncé, P!nk, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury in the past — is certainly nothing to be sniffed at. In fact the club’s commercial revenue alone would give them a hefty safety net, given it stood at £276.9million in their latest accounts, which is nearly four times the total revenue of even the rich...

Arsenal’s pre-tax loss significantly reduced for the second year in a row, falling from £18m to just £1m, so they effectively broke-even.    The Zurich-based football finance guru Swiss Ramble has provided his usual forensic analysis.  For much more depth, go to his Substack pag.   Here are some highlights. The improvement was driven by good growth in (football) revenue, which shot up £76m (13%) from £614m to a new club record £690m, while profit from player sales also greatly increased by £30m from £51m to £81m. Arsenal’s revenue growth in the last three years has been very impressive, as income has surged by a massive £321m (87%) from £369m to £690m, easily a new club record. Arsenal’s £690m revenue is now the third highest in England, having overtaken Manchester United £667m, Tottenham £565m and Chelsea £491m. They have basically caught up with Manchester City £694m, while they are not far behind Liverpool £703m. However, this was partially offset ...

West Ham United have warned of the “serious and severe” financial consequences if they are relegated from the Premier League this season after announcing a loss of £104.2 million.    The east London club said their biggest loss since returning to the top flight in 2012 was a result of player trading, poor performance and not having European football. The wage bill increased from £161 million to £176 million for the financial year ending in May and their wages-to-turnover ratio rose to 77 per cent. They also owe £195 million in transfer fees to other clubs in next three years.West Ham United have warned of the “serious and severe” financial consequences if they are relegated from the Premier League this season after announcing a loss of £104.2 million. If relegated to the Championship, West Ham would expect to sell several players such as Bowen, Jarrod and Summerville. Turnover fell from £269m to £228m due to lower income from broadcasting and match days   The highest...

Liverpool posted record revenue of £703million ($947.8m) for the 2024-25 season as they made a profit after tax of £8m. The accounts for the year ending May 2025 show a significant upturn in the three main revenue streams during a campaign when they won the  championship. Media revenue increased by £60m to £264m, matchday revenue went up by £14m to £116m, and commercial revenue jumped by £15m to £323m. Overall revenue leapt by £89m to £703m — a rise of 14.5 per cent. As a result, Liverpool were the highest placed Premier League club in Deloitte Money League, in fifth spot behind Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid. It is a far rosier picture than 12 months ago when Liverpool posted a record pre-tax loss of £57m for the 2023-24 season — a year when the absence of Champions League football cut deep. However, the relatively small profit for 2024-25 is down to the fact that Liverpool’s wage bill increased by £42m to £428m, the highest in the Premier Leagu...