The Political Economy of Football V2

The financial dominance of the Premier League was underscored by the latest Global Transfer Report from Fifa, as the latest window to sign new players slams shut on Monday. English clubs spent $3.82bn in the international transfer market last year, more than the $3.43bn total for the next three leading spenders (Germany, Italy and France) combined. The figure for English teams, up from $1.88bn in 2024, accounted for about 30 per cent of the record $13.08bn spent on international transfer fees across the men’s game in 2025. Spending on international transfers also hit a record high last year in women’s football. The two biggest cross-border deals both involved Premier League holders Liverpool, who brought in midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike. The report does not include domestic deals, such as the British-record £125mn the Anfield club spent on striker Alexander Isak, signed from Premier League side Newcastle United. That...

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented his  Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping with a Premier League match ball flown 5,000 miles from London. Tthe UK Prime Minister arrived in Beijing armed with one of the yellow Puma match balls used in Sunday’s Premier League fixture between Arsenal and Manchester United, a game he had attended at the Emirates Stadium.    It wassigned by a number of United pl;ayers. It was reportedly presented to Xi ahead of a formal summit and lunch in the Great Hall of the People, with China’s president widely known to be a Manchester United supporter.  Xi’s affection for Manchester United may have been reasonably well known, but more surprising was the revelation   that he told Starmer he also has a fondness for Arsenal, Manchester City and Crystal Palace. Xi’s last trip to Manchester saw him given a tour of the Etihad Campus by City’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who has subsequently become a special envoy to China on...

The board of the Shrimps Trust at Morecambe have written to the club’s owners, Panjab Warriors, and the club’s chairman Kuljit Singh Momi, expressing their concern at the direction of the Lancashire club. The open letter details a number of concerns relating to both on-pitch and off-pitch matters, with the trust claiming that promises made have not seen results delivered or communication with fans. The new ownership group took over at the start of the season following a long campaign by fans to oust previous owner Jason Whittingham, who presided over their relegation from the EFL. Supporters hoped that after this period of turmoil which saw club wages going unpaid, a gutting of the club’s playing staff, and their early fixtures in the National League suspended, that new ownership would steady the ship. Now the club find themselves in the relegation places of the National League. The trust, however, are concerned that promised recruitment, strengthened board governance and a l...

January has been a difficult month for Tottenham Hotspur, to put it mildly. The Premier League results have been disastrous, with Spurs taking just three points from five games, none against top sides. The defining sound has been booing.   That negativity has corroded Frank’s standing at Spurs over time. What no one knows today is the impact of Wednesday’s triumph on Sunday’s mood. If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is that the club’s boardroom executives control the head coach’s future, and they have been consistently supportive of Frank since his appointment in June. The hierarchy will soon face more pressure from fans than they have at any point since Daniel Levy’s dismissal in September. That was the Year Zero moment, the sudden rupture when the Lewis family took back control of the club. The old way of doing things, built around Levy, was out. In came a new modern corporate structure. At the heart of it was CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who had arrived ...

The Athletic has been looking at the hardest clubs in England to support.   Bristol Rovers were selected due to their 2025, which featured relegation as well as a record 10 consecutive defeats. The club have never been in the top flight in their 143 years, and the last time they were in the second tier was 1993. They have never won a major trophy or reached a semi-final.  It was the first home game of 2026, a new start and all that. An old face, Steve Evans, is the new Rovers manager, appointed shortly before Christmas. Rovers’ anthem, Leadbelly’s Goodnight Irene, gets an airing and there was some familiarity in the scoreline, too: Bristol Rovers 0-1 Colchester United. It was Rovers’ 13th home league game this season: they have won three, scoring eight goals. Eight. In the second half of last season, there had also been 13 home matches. Rovers won five of those. Nicknamed ‘The Gas’ and the ‘Pirates’, it meant in 2025 ‘Gasheads’ made 25 trips to the stadium, saw eigh...

I am sceptical about the fashion in football for constantly changing the manager.    The New York Times has run a feature on managerial turnover in the Championship.    T heir view is that more changes are on the way.   However, the evidence of a new managerial bounce seems to be mixed to say the least. Of the 24 managers to start the season in charge of a Championship club, only 15 remain. The relentless and ruthless nature of England’s second tier suggests there will probably be further casualties before the end of the season, too. Over a third of the total sackings (25) across the four divisions in England have been in the Championship, with Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion, Oxford United, Southampton, Swansea City, Norwich City, Watford, and Sheffield United all pulling the plug after experiencing struggles. Of the eight clubs to move a manager on, seven make up the bottom 11 positions in the Championship, with Watford, who have a managerial recrui...

Moving away for once from their obsession with Wrexham, The Athletic (New York Times) has named the the three clubs hardest to support in England: Preston North End, Bristol Rovers and Darlington. Remember that when Preston were first formed they dominated the Football League as 'the Invincibles'.  When I started watching football, Tom Finney was a leading England star (he later went to work in his plumbing business!) Given there has been no PNE Championship play-off since 2009 and the last five season finishes have been 20th, 10th, 12th, 13th, and 13th, there is not huge expectation PNE will be anywhere other than mid-table come May and facing another season in the Championship. In the league, Preston haven’t played Arsenal since 1960, Man United since 1961, Liverpool since 1962. When QPR arrive in April, it will be a 38th league meeting of the clubs since 2000. The club relies financially on the Hemmings family, who invest around £12million ($16.2m) a year. Preston are esti...

The Deloitte Money League has received extensive coverage, but It is well worth picking out some highlights from the Swiss Ramble’s forensic analysis in which he identifies key trends in football finance.   Subscribe to his Substack page for much more detail – and insights. There are no fewer than six Premier League clubs in the Top 10, split between three from the North West of England (Liverpool 5th, Manchester City 6th and Manchester United 8th) and three from London (Arsenal 7th, Tottenham 9th and Chelsea 10th).    That’s pretty impressive, though it was also the first time in this report’s history that no English side featured in the top four, largely due to the positive impact of the FIFA Club World Cup on some continental clubs. In addition, we find three other English clubs in the bottom half of the Top 20: Aston Villa 14th, Newcastle United 17th and West Ham 20th.    The total number of English clubs in the Top 20 was unchanged at nine, but was...

Manchester United's defeat of Arsenal at the Emirates yesterday was something of a surprise (and a great game of football for the neutral).  However, it should not be assumed that United's problems are over after two wins or that Arsenal have now lost the title as some of their nervous fans fear.  {Dido is an Arsenal fan). Arsenal went into the game sitting at the top of both the Premier League and the Uefa Champions League tables, a rise underpinned by significant spending on players and years of settled ownership under US billionaire Stan Kroenke.  Manchester United have outspent Arsenal over the past five years, yet stability has eluded them: less than two years after taking control of club operations Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has already sacked two managers. Both clubs have had to handle a bumpy period of transition following the departures of long-serving managers — Arsène Wenger at Arsenal and Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson. But while United’s owners have la...

Chelsea are outliers in multiple ways.  Whether that’s having the youngest squad in the Premier League this season when weighted by minutes played, or their proactive transfer strategy, which has seen them already agree deals for four new young players to join next summer. Chelsea also are the only Premier League side without a front-of-shirt sponsor, and sources at the club who spoke  The Athletic  — all of who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — believe their unusual approach will pay off. The latest Football Money League report from Deloitte sheds more light on Chelsea’s revenues. Being one of only six Premier League clubs in the top 10 is a positive, and they have achieved that without a front-of-shirt sponsor. However, they are behind Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham. While a lack of front-of-shirt sponsorship is not the only reason for this, the gap would be smaller if they had one. Chelsea’s commercial reve...

Newcastle United face Aston Villa on Sunday as two teams who have come closest to breaking the dominance of the so-called ‘Big Six’. This term has been used to refer to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who have regularly finished in those places in the Premier League and therefore received the benefits of European football that come with it. Though some of those clubs have fallen down the division regularly in recent years, the financial aspect of their advantage largely remains.  Undoubtedly the single-biggest impediment to Newcastle’s growth has been financial regulations. The idea that they would become the “richest club in the world” was also a fallacy — yet even if they wanted to call upon the full resources of their mega-wealthy owners, they would be unable to do so. While Chelsea and Manchester City could keep spending following their respective takeovers in 2003 and 2008, Newcastle were forced to sell players again...

 In 2024/25, Real Madrid remained the only football club to generate over €1 billion in revenue, doing so for the second consecutive year. While the club reported a 6% decrease in matchday revenue, primarily driven by a reduction in revenue from the sale of Personal Seat Licenses, its €233m matchday revenue would still rank as the second highest ever generated by a Money League club. Additionally, the club reported a 23% increase in commercial revenue, driven by improved merchandise performance and new commercial partners. For the first time since 2019/20, FC Barcelona returned to the Deloitte Money League podium (2 nd ), generating €975m. Despite continuing to play matches away from the Spotify Camp Nou, which is due for completion during the 2025/26 season, the club reported a 27% growth in revenue compared to 2023/24. A key driver for this growth was the introduction of Personal Seat Licence arrangements, generating one-off c.€70m. Much like Real Madrid during the 2023/24 se...

The Deloitte Money League for 2026 has been published.  The cumulative revenue of the Money League clubs grew by 11%, rising to €12.4 billion (2023/24: €11.2 billion). Matchday (€2.4 billion), broadcast (€4.7 billion) and commercial (€5.3 billion) revenues all grew to record levels, as the latter became the first revenue stream to exceed €5 billion. For the third consecutive year, commercial revenue represented the most significant proportion of total revenue for Money League clubs, generating an average of €265m (2025: €244m). The key drivers for this included improved retail performance, increasing sponsorship revenue, as well as the use of stadia and surrounds on non-matchdays. The latter represents a significant shift in the business models of certain clubs to focus on greater utilisation of stadia assets through a diversified entertainment offering. On-site breweries, restaurants, hotels, and other offerings are therefore becoming more common, demonstrating the importance ...

A look at the finances of Football League founders and Championship perennials Preston North End.  Extracts come from the latest report on the club from the authoritative Swiss Ramble. Preston’s pre-tax loss worsened from £14.3m to £17.7m in 2024/25, despite revenue rising £3.6m (21%) from £16.9m to £20.5m, a new club high.   This was more than offset by a steep increase in operating expenses, up £6.7m (21%) from £31.6m to £38.3m. In addition, they made nothing from player sales, though the previous season was not so hot either, only contributing £0.4m.   The result after tax was better, thanks to a £4.3m tax credit, though this still widened from £9.9m to £13.4m. There was growth across the board, as all three revenue streams set new club records. The largest increase was in broadcasting, which rose £2.3m (25%) from £9.5m to £11.8m, but match day was up £1.1m (25%) from £4.3m to £5.4m. In addition, commercial was slightly higher, rising £0.2m (7%) From £3.1m to £3.3m...

Accountancy firm BDO reports that global interest in domestic game continues to grow with record-breaking revenues of £6.4bn in the Premier League in 2024, rising club valuations and a surge in interest in women’s football.   Clubs face persistent high costs, with wages representing 63% of revenues in the Premier League and 93% in the Championship, and over 90% expect to incur pre-tax losses in 2025, with the nearly the same proportion stating that they will require shareholder funding in the near future Player transfers hit record highs in 2025, but separate analysis from Twenty First Group highlights that the correlation between spend and on-field results is surprisingly low (just 57%, and a mere 35% when you exclude ‘superclubs’) Despite financial challenges, investor interest in clubs remains high with two-thirds of clubs saying they have received an approach from prospective investors in the last 12 months     There is widening financial disparity both ...

Henry Mance of the FT provides a balanced assessment of the debate about VAR.  For me, it confirms that most fans are conservative technophobes at heart.  Back in the 1950s many of them opposed the introduction of floodlights. It does need tweaking and Mance has some useful suggestions. Moreover, if the VAR team can't reach a decision in three minutes, the on field decision should stand.   But so much is at stake financially in modern football that mistakes by officials can't simply be shrugged off. Here’s some good news about the world in 2026: football refereeing is more accurate than ever. If you don’t believe me, look at the English Premier League’s list of recent wrong decisions. Most of the mistakes are marginal. Thanks to technology, glaring errors are now even rarer than successful Manchester United signings. It is basically impossible that England will be knocked out of this year’s World Cup by an equivalent of Diego Maradona’s 1986 Hand of God (they will ...

Throughout all their ups and downs, Plymouth Argyle have strived to be financially sustainable, so let’s take a look via the Swiss Ramble at the latest accounts to see how they have performed against this objective. Despite relegation, Argyle actually managed to generate a pre-tax profit of £0.3m in 2024/25, following a £2.4m loss the previous season. The club said this was “the result of success in player trading, which overcame significant costs of competing in the Championship”. The main driver of Argyle’s revenue growth was broadcasting, thanks to the new EFL TV rights deal, which led to an increase of £2.3m (22%) from £10.6m to £12.9m. However, there was also good growth elsewhere, as match day rose £0.4m (9%) from £5.5m to £5.9m, while commercial was up £0.4m (5%) from £9.6m to £10.0m. Argyle’s return to profitability was good news, but they have still posted losses six times in the last eight years.   That said, Argyle’s losses have been very small compared to the vast...

Eight months to the day from delivering the greatest moment in Crystal Palace’s history by winning the FA Cup there seems to be no way back for Oliver Glasner. An abrupt early ending feels like an inevitability. Joy has turned to despair. Frustration has grown. Anger has simmered. Tensions have risen. Another emotional outburst from the Palace manager, to follow an astonishing press conference just over 24 hours earlier, has surely created an intolerable situation after scathing criticism of the club’s hierarchy. Some fans, too, seem to have turned on him, even if there is at least some acknowledgement that his anger comes from being dealt a terrible hand.    Against that, it should be noted that there was a heartfelt article in The Times yesterday by a Palace fan saying that they had lost the best manager they ever had. As full-time came at the Stadium of Light and Palace had suffered a 2-1 defeat to make it 10 games without a win, Glasner walked over to acknowledge the...

 Afer a troubled history, Valencia are at last making progress on their much needed stadium:  https://footballgroundguide.com/news/nou-mestalla-redevelopment-restart-marks-biggest-project-in-valencia-history-ahead-of-2027-opening.html

It's not often that the editorial in the Financial Times is about football, but their editorial today is well worth reproducing. For all that they say, for fans the manager remains of central and possibly exaggerated importance,   Look at the jeopardy facing Thomas Frank after today's home defeat to West Ham and the boos of fans.  Or consider the article in today's Times in which a Crystal Palace fan effectively blames the board for losing their 'best ever' manager. The Pink 'Un states: 'Since New Year, three of the world’s most famous football clubs — Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid — have sacked their head coach. This is normal for the industry: the average tenure of head coaches across Europe is now about 1.2 years, with most serving less than a season. The sackings illustrate football’s dysfunctionality. They also highlight the passing of football’s “big man” era. If clubs, fans and coaches themselves can adjust to this shift, that may be no b...

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed he will leave the club this summer at the end of his contract.  The Austrian’s announcement comes as Manchester City are in the process of finalising an agreement with Palace to sign centre-back Marc Guehi in a package worth £20million ($26.8m) plus bonuses and a sell-on clause. Palace are without a win in nine matches across all competitions, and exited the FA Cup third round to Macclesfield of the National League North on Saturday, but Glasner insisted the timing of his future announcement is coincidental. Palace are currently 13th in the Premier League after 21 rounds of action, and are in the play-off stages of the Conference League, where they play Bosnian side Zrinjski, ahead of the knockout stage. They were unfairly deprived of what should have been a Europa League place by Uefa technicalities. It had seemed clear for some time that the direction of travel was for Glasner to depart at the end of his contract and ...

The Italian lakes are a favourite destination for English tourists and many wealthy Milan residents have second homes there.   One of my abiding memories is being hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation at their splendid centre in Bellagio. Normally the likes of Como FC would not attract the attention of the Swiss Ramble.   But his Zurich fastness is not far away and if he ever tears himself away from his spreadsheets, he might well spend a weekend there. Reading his analysis of Como FC they look a bit like Wrexham iin the EFL.    It also shows that emerging countries are likely to be an increasing source of funds for football. One of the big football stories in Italy has been the rise of Como as they returned to Serie A after a 21-year absence, finishing in a very creditable 10th place in their first season back in 2024/25. To date, this season has been even more promising, as they are currently in 6th place, very much involved in the race for European quali...

One time prime minister Harold Macmillan once said of The Wirral ‘funny place, it sticks out, up there.’   I have only been to Tranmere Rovers once, but I was able to park in the road outside and I thought they were a really friendly club. The problem is that they are the third club on Merseyside and it is relatively easy to travel across the Mersey.    The Wirral itself is an odd mixture of deprived and high end housing.    There was once another EFL club at New Brighton:   the once decaying seaside resort is seeing something ofa revival. Tranmere Rovers are set to become the latest English team to come under American ownership, as a bid for the Merseyside club from Ascent Capital Partners is waiting for English Football League (EFL) approval. Current owners former Football Association (FA) chief executive Mark Palios and his wife Nicola bought the club in 2014 but have been trying to sell the League Two side for at least two years. They decli...

A former executive chairman and co-owner of Major League Baseball team the San Diego Padres is set to take a controlling stake in League One club Lincoln City. American Ron Fowler initially bought a minority interest in third-tier Lincoln in April 2024, and he is now poised to replace Arizona-based Harvey Jabara as the majority shareholder if his bid is cleared by the English Football League. Lincoln's board approved a proposal from Fowler to increase his stake - through his company Liquid Investments - to more than 25% on 11 December. Fowler, whose son Andrew is also involved in the club, will take on the position of chairman at LNER Stadium and will "assume responsibility for the funding of the club for the immediate future". The ownership shake-up at Lincoln, who are second in the table, was confirmed as a "future development" in the club's annual accounts covering the 12 months up to June 2025. controlling stake in League One club Lincoln City. Fowler wi...

Alonso’s sacking shows that at Real Madrid, the opinion of only one man ultimately counts: the president. Perez has given up very quickly on new managers before — Rafael Benitez lasted six months during the 2015-16 campaign, and Julen Lopetegui got just 14 games before the axe fell in the autumn of 2018. Alonso has not improved his reputation during his short time as Madrid coach, failing to get the team playing the way he wants. His reserved personality and technocratic approach led to issues with both the dressing room and the boardroom. He may also have regrets about allowing himself to drift away from his own convictions over recent months. Ultimately, the past eight months have served as a reminder of just how unique Madrid is within world sport. Perhaps a ‘project’ manager like Alonso, who came in looking to impose his own ideas about the game, was always doomed to failure. Some around the Bernabeu say that Perez was never convinced about the idea of hiring him, which made ...