The Political Economy of Football V2

The finances of Barcelona are very complex, but in some ways quite alarming.   Continued success requires spending on players, the stadium and many other things besides (never forget utilities costs).   Yet one cannot run a world class football club and a global brand without taking big risks, even if it inevitably draws you into an international financial world that looks increasingly unstable and under pressure to many analysts. Barca tottered past €1billion (£859m; $1.1bn) in revenues last season, only the second football club ever to do so, behind rivals Real Madrid. Yet they still failed to turn a profit, losing €17.8m post-tax, while a costly remodelling of their Camp Nou home remains unfinished and debts continue to pile high. On the pitch, they wrapped up a second consecutive La Liga title in May in the best way possible, beating Madrid 2-0 at home to ensure their El Clasico rivals couldn’t catch them. Hansi Flick’s side fell at the quarter-fina...

Liver;pool have signed a shirt deal with Turkish Airlines, the fourth largest in the world, that is worth in excess of £300m over five years. The club believe that the deal is the most valuable in Premier League history, although Manchester United have made similar claims. The new deal will take over from that with Standard Chartered in June 2027 which was estimated to be worth £50m a season compared with £60m for the new deal.  Standard Chartered will remain as a global partner. They have been Liverpool's front of shirt sponsor since 2010.   The club have had only three such partners in the last 35 years, Carlsberg preceding Standard Chaetered. A deal for sleeve sponsorship is also up for renewal.   Expedia's branding has been worth between £9m and £12m a year.  The kit deal with Adifdas is worth £90m a year.

Barcelona has topped revenues of €1 billion, but remains one of the most indebted clubs in world soccer:  https://forzafootball.com/news/barcelona-announce-record-breaking-finances-but-still-trail-real-madrid-159443561 The club has boosted its finances with a new commercial deal:  ysscores.com/en/news/14037095/fc-barcelona-boosts-its-finances-with-a-new-commercial-deal

David Moyes has admitted that he has never spoken to the Everton owner Dan Friedkin in the 20 months since he bought the club, as the veteran manager prepares to pick up the pieces of a shambolic transfer window. Friedkin, the 61-year-old American, purchased Everton in December 2024 but claims emerged this week that they are looking for new investment after a transfer window that ended with a chaotic deadline day on Tuesday, in which they sold fans’ favourite Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City for £65million and the USA international Folarin Balogun pulled out of a late move from Monaco, to leave Moyes with only 18 outfield players in his senior squad. With Moyes in the final year of his contract, the manager insists the transfer debacle will have no bearing on his future, although he did make the shock admission that he had never spoken to his American employer, with his contact coming via the owner’s representative, Rishi Majithia, and the club’s chief execu...

Daniel Kretinsky has reached an agreement with David Sullivan to become the largest single shareholder at West Ham United, in a major blow to Amanda Staveley in her pursuit of a stake in the Championship club. Staveley was at the London Stadium this week as a guest of the club’s co-chairwoman Vanessa Gold, who in July had agreed to sell her family’s 25.1 per cent shareholding, valued at £150million, to a consortium led by the British businesswoman and former Newcastle United director. But The Times understands that Kretinsky, Sullivan and the other shareholders have exercised their pre-emption rights ahead of Thursday’s 5.30pm deadline to purchase the Gold family stake, with Kretinsky and Sullivan believed to have reached a separate agreement that certainly makes it difficult for Staveley to maintain an interest in West Ham. The deal is due to be completed by the end of this month. Gold has now issued a completion notice on the £150million share sale, which includes a fi...

Three words dominate the mind of Abdullah Ashraf: English Football League.   To be more specific, it is the EFL’s League Two, the fourth tier of English football, that preoccupies the daily thoughts of this 24-year-old American businessman. Currently, 20 of the EFL’s 72 clubs, from the second tier through to the fourth tier, either have Americans as owners or prominent investors. Oklahoma real estate investor Ashraf plans to add to that number after taking over at Tamworth FC, a club in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football pyramid. Ashraf, the founder and chief executive of Dawn Group International (DGI) and owner of Oklahoma United FC in his home city, made some bold pledges after being unveiled as Tamworth’s new owner earlier this summer. He vowed to turn the club fully professional, buy and redevelop the Lamb Ground, Tamworth’s home since their foundation in 1933, and build a new training facility once the premises were purchased from the l...

American celebrities cannot get enough of English soccer clubs including those outside the top flight. Award-winning actor Hugh Jackman is in talks to purchase a stake in English second-tier club Norwich City.   While there have been no official moves to arrange any investment so far, the 57-year-old has held discussions with the Championship club’s ownership over a potential deal, according to sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Jackman grew up in Australia but is a fan of Norwich, who have spent the majority of the last half-decade in the English top and second divisions, and was asked about potentially becoming the latest celebrity to invest in English football and the possibility of being pitted against his Deadpool & Wolverine co-star, Ryan Reynolds, who co-owns fellow Championship side Wrexham. Jackman is best known for playing the superhero Wolverine in Marvel’s X-Men series, having also appeared in The Greatest Showman an...