The £180m game

Even if they are relegated straight back to the Championship, the winner of the play off final between Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday is likely to be £180m better off explains sports lawyer Daniel Geey.

The rewards from promotion set up serious tensions in the Championship.   In the last published set of figures for 2014-15, half the clubs in the division had wage bills more than 100 per cent of turnover.

Mourinho talks hit trademark snag

The negotiations over José Mourinho’s contract with Manchester United have hit a snag over his trademark.  Chelsea will demand a settlement of several million pounds to pass on the trademark for him which the club has owned since 2006.

Chelsea owns three separate Mourinho trademarks which are due to expire between 2023 and 2025.   If retained, they would prevent United attaching their manager’s name to a wide range of merchandise including teddy bears, after shave, computer games and football boots.

Arsenal top money league

Arsenal became the first team to collect more than £100m in Premier League prize money in the season just ended.   Next year the club that comes 20th is likely to earn that.

Following their £101m came Manchester City with £96.7m, Manchester United with £96.5m and Tottenham Hotspur with £95.2m.  

Title winners Leicester City came in fifth, receiving £93.2m.   Their matches were selected for broadcast only 15 times, compared with 26 at Manchester United and 25 at Manchester City.

Bradford City bought by Germans

Bradford City has been bought by a German consortium in an unexpected development, although apparently negotiations have been going on for a year,   League One clubs with potential are attracting increasing interest from foreign buyers.

It is believed that the price paid was around £6m which is a relative bargain for a club with Championship potential.

Co-owners Mark Lawn and Julian Rhodes are stepping aside as part of the deal.

New Villa owner not quite what he seemed

What is claimed to be a ‘miscommunication’ led to Aston Villa overstating the number of companies under the control of new owner Tony Xia.   

It was claimed that his company had the controlling interest in five publicly listed companies.   In fact it only has a 75 per cent stake in Lotus Health, a large producer of the food additive MSG.   Four other companies are said to be in the process of acquisition.

FC Twente to fight relegation punishment

FC Twente are to fight a decision to relegate them from the Dutch Eredivisie, which they won in 2010, to the second division for financial irregularities.   The decision stems from the sale of player transfer fee rights to outside investors.

The licensing commission could have revoked their right to play professional football altogether, but this would have been difficult with a well supported club.   However, relegation will strain their finances.

New Chelsea kit deal expected

Having terminated its kit deal with adidas which was worth £30m a year, Chelsea are expected to conclude a new deal with Nike worth £600m over ten years.  This would rank them second after Manchester United in terms of kit deals.   Arsenal’s kit deal with Puma is worth just over £30m a year.