PSG are football's greatest financial power

Even leaving aside the possible consequences of Manchester City's dispute with Uefa, PSG have overtaken Manchester City as the football's greatest financial power, according to a report by football business experts Soccerex, again highlighting the significance of the two clubs' Middle Eastern ownership: Soccerex report. You can download the whole report.

The findings are in line with an offthepitch.com analysis which last month showed PSG and Manchester City, both clubs owned by oil-rich states, were the biggest revenue growers among the top European clubs over the past decade. PSG increase their revenue by a whopping 671 per cent from 2010 to 2019, while Manchester City's Abu Dhabi owners oversaw a 328 per cent increase.

However, one should inject a note of caution. The oil price has probably reached its all time high in real terms as the switch to electric powered vehicles gains pace. The Gulf states don't produce anything else.

The Paris club surpassed City mainly due to an annual increase in the club's cash reserves - five times that of City's - while PSG managed to decrease their debt by €70 million. City increased their debt by more than €90 million, according to the report.

While Premier League clubs dominated the ranking's top ten, one club dropped considerably in the table. Manchester United, despite having one of the biggest revenues in world football (£627.1 million last season), fell eight places to 16th in the report, due to depreciation in squad value, tangible assets and cash levels. Despite decreasing from the year before, United's liabilities stood at £1.5 billion in the 2018/19 season.

Bayern Munich are third in the rankings, followed by Tottenham, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus and Dortmund in tenth. Soccerex's report factors five financial variables – playing assets, tangible assets, cash in the bank, potential owner investment and net debt.

MLS claim that they are the best represented league in the top 100 after the Premier League. However, look at one of the comments: their standing reflects the fact that they have rich owners who can develop the land around stadiums: MLS claim

Soccerex note, 'European clubs account for 80% of the top 30, a reflection of the dominance of Europe’s elite clubs, but interestingly, the ownership of this group of clubs is a much more global affair with just under 50% owned by non-European entities, including individuals or organisations from the Middle East, South East Asia and North America.'

'There are 15 different leagues represented in the top 100. UK clubs make up the biggest portion with 23 - 18 Premier League Clubs and five EFL clubs. Major League Soccer is the next most represented league with 17 clubs – 15 from the United States and two from Canada – followed by LaLiga and Serie A who both have 11 clubs and then the Bundesliga which has 10. The J-League is represented for the first time as part of the report’s expanded scope, with two clubs – Nagoya Grampus and Vissel Kobe – featuring in the top 30 largely due to their corporate ownership by Toyota and Rakuten respectively.'

Wolves get raw deal from FFP

I used to see a lifelong Wolves fan for lunch once a month. He was approaching ninety, but still went to games. Sadly he passed away the other week. As football finance guru Kieran Maguire has noted, Wolves continue to be constrained by financial fair play rules. Radio 4 this morning described them as this year's 'crisis club' and the pessimists have certainly been piling in. Martin Samuel wrote sympathetically in the Sunday Times yesterday, saying that the Premier League drives talent away with regulatory red tape: 'Why could Al-Hilal sign Neves? Because Wolves needed the money. And why did Wolves need the money? Because the club had to comply with an artificial construct known as financial fair play. So Wolves are going skint, yes? No. There is no suggestion that Wolves are in financial trouble, only that they are failing to meet the rigours of FFP. Wolves’ owners appear to have the money to run the club, and invest in the club, and in fact came up with a pow

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000. The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts. Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is

Charlton takeover approved

The long awaited takeover of Charlton Athletic by SE7 Partners from Thomas Sandgaard has been approved: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/se7-partners-obtain-efl-approval-for-charlton-athletic-takeover/ Charlton have had unhappy experiences with owners for over a decade, so how this works out will remain to be seen. There is certainly potential there, but will it be realised? This interview with Charlie Methven gives detail not available elsewhere: https://thecharltondossier.com/charlie-methven-on-the-record/

The Political Economy of Football V2

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