Article Taxonomy: Football Finance

Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.

FA Cup loses its lustre

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Proposals to change the format of the FA Cup are being considered.   They represent a further downgrading of the competition which was once on a par with the league and arguably a more glamorous trophy to win.

Aussie bidder for Charlton identified

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The money man behind the Australian consortium interested in taking over Charlton from unpopular Belgian owner Roland Duchatelet has been identified by fanzine Voice of the Valley.   He is Andrew Muir who sold his family owned electrical chain for £585m last year.

Chinese buyer interested in United stake

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An unknown Chinese buyer has expressed an interest in buying out some of Manchester United’s shareholders.  Negotiators claiming to act for a billionaire investor have contacted some of United’s independent shareholders in recent weeks over a possible deal to buy a stake in the club.

Football has become more superstar-centric

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Commenting on the Neymar transfer, soccer economics guru Stefan Szymanski has said that it shows how a team sport has moved towards a superstar-centric model.

He told the Financial Times, ‘If you think how football was 30 years ago, the overwhelming majority of a team’s money came from the local fan base.   The difference today is the global reach of teams, through all forms of media, so that the revenue generating potential comes from global celebrities like Neymar, Messi and Ronaldo.’

Neymar and financial fair play

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Sports lawyer Daniel Geey discusses how the signing of Neymar by Paris Saint-Germain relates to financial fair play (FFP) rules.

The FFP rules were revised in 2015, so clubs must show that they do not have losses of more than €30m over a three year period, although spending on stadiums and youth development are exempted.  Javier Tebas, La Liga president, believes the Neymar deal would breach FFP.

The story behind the Neymar transfer

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It is very unusual for a football transfer story to make the front page of the Financial Times, but that applies to Neymar’s transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain at a total cost of £415m. It is more than twice the sum Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba last summer and two and a half times that paid to United by Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo

Big variations in Premier League wages

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There is considerable variation in Premier League wages with an almost four to one ratio between the club with the highest average wages in 2015-16 and the club with the lowest.  Data from thepriceofffootball shows that five clubs had average wages of over £100,000 a week, led by Manchester United on £119,088, followed by Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal.

There was a big gap between Arsenal on £100,198 and Tottenham Hotspur on £51,304.  Bournemouth was the most parsimonious club on £30,542.

Neymar on par with Messi in salary stakes

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Paris Saint-Germain are expected to formalise their bid to sign Neymar in a deal worth more than £500m this week.   It would place him on a par with Lionel Messi as the best paid footballer on an annual salary of £55m.   Neymar’s father should be able to take eight figure commissions on the transaction.

Koreans interested in Woking

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Chankoo Sim, leader of Sportzen, a Seoul-based marketing firm, is one of a number of potential bidders interested in Woking.   The company were the first Koreans to invest in a European football club after acquiring Belgian second division side AFC Tubize in 2014.