The Political Economy of Football V2

The chairman’s statement accompanying the latest Spurs accounts is brief and much less upbeat than last year.  Even though Levy’s comments are brief, it does not mean that they are devoid of content. The most eye-catching part comes when he issued a passionate defence of the club’s operating model, hitting back at the argument that Tottenham should simply start shovelling money at the transfer market if they are to make progress on the pitch. This has been a constant criticism of Levy, not least earlier this season when thousands of fans marched in protest against him before the 1-0 win against Manchester United on February 16. “Profit before glory” has become one of the most widespread criticisms of the way the club is run. Tottenham are certainly attuned to this point: Levy makes clear in Monday’s message that in the six years since the new stadium opened, the club “have invested over £700m net in player acquisitions”. And it is certainly true that Tottenham have co...

An American consortium is close to sealing a £18m bid for Leyton Orient:  https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/mar/27/us-based-consortium-close-to-ambitious-18m-takeover-of-leyton-orient American investors have become increasingly interested in franchises in lower division clubs seeing them as offering better value.   Orient are still in contention for a play off place this season.

FIFA has finally confirmed the revenue distribution model for the expanded version of the Club World Cup, which will take place in the United States from 15 June to 13 July.  The big headline is that a cool One Billion Dollars will be shared between the 32 participating clubs, so the teams that reach the latter stages of the tournament can look forward to receiving a substantial windfall. The highest ranked European club, namely Manchester City could earn a massive $125.8m (including $38.2m participation pillar), while the top South American club would only receive $102.8m, as their participation pillar is much lower at $15.2m. Chelsea’s maximum earnings of $116.6m (£97m) are less than Manchester City’s $125.8m (£105m).   It’s worth noting that the big money only accrues in the later stages of the tournament. For example, City would receive “only” $51.7m for reaching the last 16 with the other $74.1m up for grabs from the quarter-finals onwards. One obvious concern about...

Chelsea’s valuation of their women’s team, which helped them to avoid breaking Profitability and Sustainability Rules, has been greeted with scepticism by football finance experts. Chelsea revealed on Monday that they made £198.7million by selling subsidiaries to the club’s parent company, with the transactions helping them to avoid a PSR breach. It is believed the women’s team were valued at considerably more than £150million.   PSR allow a club to lose £105million over three seasons, or £35million per season, on a rolling basis. The valuation of the team has provoked surprise. Kieran Maguire, the football finance guru, would have expected a figure of between £20million and £30million. That would be about double Chelsea Women’s 2023-24 revenue, and therefore comparable to the £305million for which Newcastle United (men’s and women’s teams) were sold in 2021, when their turnover was £140.2million. “The women’s game is a start-up so perhaps we would expect a slightly high...

Fenway Sports Group believe there is an opportunity to restore Malaga to the upper echelons of the Spanish and European game and there is huge potential for the only professional team in Spain’s sixth-largest city with a population of around 600,000.  The team also has a loyal fan base — even when playing in the third tier last season, attendances at its rustic La Rosaleda stadium regularly topped 20,000. That strong support helped the team, coached by long-time club servant Sergio Pellicer, to get promoted back to Segunda in 2023-24, despite the ongoing off-pitch turmoil. Malaga is also a well-known tourist destination, and the Costa del Sol area is home to a wealthy expat community, bringing opportunities for VIP matchday revenues and international marketing. Fenway Sports Group is routinely held up as an exceptionally valuable sporting empire, with Forbes pricing the group at $12.95billion in 2024, pitching them as the world’s third-most valuable sporting group a...

Aston Villa lost £85m in 2023/24 but it is less than the previous season and 'in line with the strategic business plan':  https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2025/march/31/aston-villa-end-of-year-accounts/ Revenue was up, but in most businesses losses at 39 per cent of turnover would set alarm bells ringing, but this is football.

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire reports on the accounts of Burton Albion.  Revenue at the Brewers was  £6.38m up 4%. Wages at £5.36m grew faster up 11%. Wages were £84 for every £100  of revenue up £5, a figure above recommended levels.  Underlying loss was £1.70m up 54% Player sale profits £0.22m, player purchases £0.31m .  Squad cost £0.56m.  Borrowings in year £1.5m. Total profit over the years £2.11m. Maguire comments: ‘Burton remain one of the very few clubs to be profitable over time, but at the current rate this is likely to only last a couple more years.’

As the financial year comes to an end, there is a fast and furious race by clubs to submit their 2023/24 accounts and they all show losses.   Information courtesy of football finance guru Kieran Maguire. Ayr United lost £187k in 23/24 taking total losses to over£1.7m. Club is dependent upon director loans of £585k to continue.    Scottish clubs are generally quite prudent so this is quite a big loss by their standards.   Gillingham losses almost doubled to £4.3 million in 23/24. The losses were underwritten by a £1.3m donation and £2.2m of loans Salford City lost over £5.3m in 23/24 taking total losses to over £28m since being acquired by new owners Promotion chasing York City lost £235k in 23/24. Scunthorpe United lost £499k in 23/24 despite losing two thirds of their employees. Club had over £4 million of liabilities at 30 June 2024.    Included in the Scunthorpe United accounts for 23/24 is a £250,000 bad debt write off. I wonder who is re...