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Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.
Talks over a planned takeover of Crystal Palace FC by a group of American businessman have broken down. Advanced discussions between the club and an investor group led by US billionaire Josh Harris, co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, have unravelled in the past several weeks.
Arsene Wenger thinks that the reason that Uefa’s financial fair play rules have been relaxed is in response to the Premier League’s new television deal. As a consequence, European clubs want more headroom to invest in players.
Michel Platini has announced plans to relax some aspects of the financial fair play (FFP) regulations with the aim of stimulating competition and growth. The rules have been criticised for making it harder for new entrants to breach the elite cartel of top European clubs.
AC Milan president Silvio Berusconi is looking for investors in the club from abroad, particularly it seems from China. This is somewhat paradoxical as he also argues that there are too many foreigners in Italian football.
Fear of qualifying for the Europa League is gripping Premier League clubs. It’s the one contest nobody wants to win.
Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs believes that the experiences of Manchester United and Liverpool in recent years prove it is more of a hindrance than a help. ‘You have the opportunity to stay closer to the top four if you only have to focus on the Barclays Premier League and the cup,’ he said.
Freddy Shepherd has claimed that Mike Ashley would try to sell Newcastle if they are relegated on Sunday. The club’s former chairman, who sold the club to Ashley in 2007, said ‘He would try to sell the club, I am sure’ when asked about the impact of a second relegation in six years.
It would, however, be irrational to sell the balance sheet champions if they had been relegated as the club would attract a lower price than if it was stlll in the Premier League, despite its sound finances and potential.
Leeds owner Massimo Cellinio has claimed that the next set of accounts for the club will show it close to breaking even. In the 2013/14, Leeds United recorded a loss of £23 miillion.
If Barcelona win the Champions League, Arsenal could receive a payment of €4m because of a clause in the transfer deal for Thomas Vermaelen. This is in spite of the fact that he has not played for Barca all season because of a torn hamstring. If the report is accurate, it’s a smart piece of work by Arsenal.
Manchester United have announced their financial results for the third quarter of the financial year. Commercial revenue was more than double matchday revenue in the first nine months of the financial year, leading Andy Green to comment on Twitter that Old Trafford is ‘really a backdrop for brands.’
Queens Park Rangers have challenged the legality of the Football League’s financial fair play (FFP) rules. With the Football League they have issued a joint statement to confirm that legal proceedings are under way, but shielded from the glare of publicity in the courts.