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Two-thirds of football fans think that clubs focus too much on the global brand at the expense of the local fan base, according to a survey conducted by the Football Supporters’ Federation. Only one third of supporters thinks that the club cares about them.
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.
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.’
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.
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
Jeremy Corbyn told the owner of Arsenal to ‘stick to football’ yesterday after it was revealed that the American billionaire Stan Kroenke had launched an online hunting channel that shows lions and elephants being killed for sport. My Outdoor TV has been described as the Netflix of the hunting, shooting and fishing world.
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.
Worcester City are set to appeal against a second refusal of planning permission for their proposed 4,000 capacity stadium at Perdiswell Park. The club has been without a home since selling St. George’s Lane in 2013,
The club has dropped down three tiers in the non-league pyramid into the Midland League Premier Division because they could not afford to play at a higher level while ground sharing at Bromsgrove Sporting 16 miles away from the cathedral city.
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.
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.