The Political Economy of Football V2

The January transfer window is generally quieter than the one in the summer. It is difficult to secure value and panic purchases may not change a team's fortunes. Sometimes it makes more sense to prepare for relegation rather than spending large sums in a futile attempt to avoid it. However, it does seem that there is a feeling this year that unrealistic sums are being asked for average players and this will lead to a quieter transfer window than usual. Some commentators think that the final sum spent could be less than a third of last year's record total. The total spent up to deadline day this year has been £110m, compared to £280m in 2018. Last year £150m was spent on deadline day alone, but more of a flurry than a last minute splurge is anticipated for today. This year's total expected is expected to be £130m - £140m, similar to 2014 and 2015. Clubs are looking for loan deals with the possibility of a signing in the summer. In most incoming loan deals Premier...

Mauricio Pocchettino's remarks about Tottenham Hotspur's exit from the FA Cup have caused some controversy, but one can see the financial logic behind them. Tottenham generated almost 23 times as much money from the Champions League as they did from the FA Cup last season. The gap between the financial value of the two competitions is set to increase to a ratio of 80:1 this season. Spurs banked £63.2m as a result of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League last season, compared to £2.8m for reaching the FA Cup semi-finals. The figures for this season are projected to be about £80m and less than £1m. In 2017-18 the club received £23.7m in prize money, £29.5m for the sale of television rights and £9.1m in gate receipts.

Russian businessman Maxim Demin's company has taken full ownership of Bournemouth. A 25% stake in the Cherries, held by Chicago-based Peak6 Investments, has now been acquired by Demin's AFCB Enterprises Ltd. With a very small matchday income, the club hopes to have a new stadium ready by 2020/21.

Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball takes an in depth look at Arsenal's finances: My friend Stan He concludes, 'Arsenal are in a tricky position, two years without Champions League participation is costly for a club that has invested so much in player transfers and wages in the last couple of years but to a certain extent they are running to stand still when competing with the other big clubs in terms of player investment (except Spurs).' 'Stan Kroenke’s motives for running the club are as mysterious as ever. He appears to want Arsenal to be self-financing, which is understandable to a degree, but this may result in the club earning the riches of the Champions League less regularly and finding it harder to attract the best talent in terms of coaches and players, which will restrict growth in terms of commercial deals and further anger Gooners.'

The owner of Notts County, Alan Hardy, has put the club up for sale, saying that he needs to concentrate on his other business interests after two years in charge: County up for sale The club is the oldest professional football club in the world and is currently at the bottom of League Two. Hardy denies the sale is taking place because he tweeted an inappriopriate picture of his anatomy. He apologised for uploading a photo onto his Twitter account which reportedly showed his penis. Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball comments: 'Can’t blame Alan Hardy for wanting to sell Notts County. Problem is, who wants to buy a business that loses £35,000 every week, rents the stadium & is technically insolvent as liabilities exceed assets so has to rely on the owner to survive.'

Arsenal's 2017/18 accounts show profit before tax increased from £45m to £70m, despite revenue falling £35m (8%) to £388m, mainly due to participating in the Europa League rather than more lucrative Champions League, as profit on player sales surged £113m to £120m. Profit after tax improved from £35m to £57m. £70m profit before tax is not only a record for the club, but is the highest profit reported to date in the 2017/18 Premier League, just ahead of Chelsea £67m, followed by Manchester United £26m and West Ham £18m. In fact it is the third highest profit ever registered in the Premier League. Judging by vox pop comments by Arsenal fans before last night's cup game, many of them would like to see some of this profit invested in the team. The last time Arsenal made a loss was in 2002, so they have recorded profits for 16 years in succession. Even so, the authoritative Swiss Ramble notes, 'However, 2018/19 is likely to see a large loss, due to lack of Champions League ...

Generating record revenue of €750.9m, Real Madrid return to first place in the Deloitte Money League for the first time since 2014/15, posting the second-highest lead over second place (FC Barcelona) in Money League history (€60.5m). Overall, the 20 highest earning football clubs in the world generated a record €8.3bn (£7.4bn) of combined revenue in 2017/18, an increase of 6% on the previous year. Real Madrid become the first club to generate more than €750m and regain their place as the highest revenue generating club in world football, making it a record twelfth time at the top. The top 20 highest earning football clubs for the 2017/18 season, with combined revenues growing 6% to €8.3bn, a new record. FC Barcelona climb one place to second, making it a Spanish one-two at the top of the Money League, whilst Manchester United slip to third. Tottenham Hotspur make it into the top 10 for only the second time, having last appeared in 2006/07. A record six English clubs feature in the t...