The Political Economy of Football V2

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...

In my ever growing extended family only one person is interested in football ( a son-in-la who is a season ticket holder at Southampton). I have always been particularly interested in goal keepers and therefore I was pleased to learn that my eldest granddaughter's part has been training with one of the country's oldest non-league clubs and has joined the squad as a keeper. Success at the highest level of the game seems to depend on high-quality goalkeeping. And yet that importance is not reflected in what clubs have traditionally been willing to spend on the position. The comparison with other positions is startling. Spending on forwards and midfielders long ago breached the £100m mark.  In transfer market terms, goalkeepers lag behind. Why? Historically, one obvious explanation stands above others: attacking players are more fun and fashionable, and it’s easier to measure their worth.    Goalscorers have a clear value, and that is as true now as it was in the la...

It’s over a quarter of a century since I worked in the United States.  Domestic soccer was in its infancy then.  I had to get up very early on a Saturday morning and get a change of trolleybuses across Seattle to watch Premier League football at an Irish bar.   Now the World Cup has given another boost to interest in the game, although it still lags behind American football, basketball and baseball (declining).   Is it bigger than (ice) hockey? Probably in the States but certainly not in Canada. “From the data we have and the metrics we look at, it suggests that we are the biggest Premier League club in the United States. I believe we’re in a unique position in terms of our pulling power.”   Liverpool’s chief commercial officer Ben Latty is talking to  The Athletic  about the impressive foothold they have established in the American market and their grand plans for further expansion. According to audience research company GWI (formerly Gl...