The Political Economy of Football V2

Former Real Madrid and Spain defender Sergio Ramos is leading a €400million (£348.2m; $469.2m) alongside foreign investors to purchase his boyhood club Sevilla.Ramos was born in the Province of Seville and came through the club’s academy before signing for Madrid in 2005, and had a second spell with the team in the 2023-24 season. Ramos would not be the largest investor in any takeover but is spearheading the bid as its public face. According to sources briefed on the process, speaking on the condition of anonymity to the New York Times , an American fund is involved in the bid. The proposal would be for 100 per cent of the club, but is subject to an exact valuation of the club’s debt — which could be around €180m according to club sources — pending an external audit commissioned by the bidders. Club sources believe that the uncertainty over the valuation of the debt lies in whether the loan made to them by CVC Capital Partners (which was provided to other La Liga clubs as part o...

Sevilla have become synonymous with the Europe League, having won it no fewer than five times in the last decade and seven times in total. Even when they have not performed well in Spain, they have invariably managed to find something extra in “their” competition. There is no clear leadership at the top, which is never a good thing for a football club. Del Nido reportedly has the largest shareholding with 24%, with Castro’s group owning 21% and Rafael Carrion, another former president, having 15%. Matters have clearly not been helped by the bitter power struggle off the pitch at Sevilla. Former president Jose Maria Del Nido Benavente is pushing to reclaim control of the club from the current incumbent Jose Castro, who is supported by Jose Maria Del Nido Benavente, who just happens to be the son of Castro’s bitter rival. The situation has been further complicated by the arrival of 777 Partners, an American private investment company, who purchased a minority stake in 2018. To date...

How do the teams in the Uefa competition finals compare financially? Manchester City are much stronger than Inter financially, as their £619m revenue is over twice as much as Inter’s £261m. This is also the case with squad cost, as City’s £1.1 bln is significantly higher than Inter’s £505m.   The difference in wages is smaller, but City’s £354m is still nearly 70% (£144m) more than Inter’s £210m. The finalists in the Europa League are much closer from a financial perspective. Roma’s £166m revenue is slightly higher than Sevilla’s £158m, while the Italians’ £155m wage bill is around 15% more than the Spaniards’ £133m.   There is only a meaningful difference with the squad cost, where Roma’s £302m is 40% (£86m) higher than Sevilla’s £216m. As might be expected, given that one club is from the minted Premier League, there is a much wider financial disparity between the two finalists in the Europa Conference League.West Ham’s £255m revenue is a hefty £155m more than Fiorentina...

Many clubs aspire to grow their 'brand' internationally and Sevilla FC is the latest club to try and do this.  The Andualsian La Liga club hopes to maximise revenues off the pitch to compete more effectively on it.  Making effective use of new technology is at the heart of the strategy. Chief executive José Maria Cruz has reaffirmed 'growth in all aspects' plans he first outlined on television earlier this year:  https://www.sevillafc.es/en/actual/news/jose-maria-cruz-we-want-to-be-even-bigger The club has an excellent record in various versions of what is now the Europa League which it has won six times, but aspires to win the Champions League. They want to build a new data analysis department and intend to use artificial intelligence and other technologies to find new insights. Selling players for profit is an important part of the plan to grow club revenues about €100 million to €300 million within four years.  However, all leading European clubs are making that a...