"If you want some accessible but informative insight into football then I suggest you couldn't do better than the Political Economy of Football website, which is not only intelligible but comes with the added bonus of being written by Addicks fan Wyn Grant." Ben Hayes - Charlton Athletic programme
Articles and reports on financial issues within football – soccer – from The Political Economy of Football.
Mike Ashley his tightened his grip on Rangers after the club agreed to accept his offer of a £10m loan. They turned down an alternative offer from the so-called Three Bears Consortium.
The club told the Stock Exchange that the terms negotiated with Sports Direct ‘represent the optimum combination of quantum and duration of funding, allowing the company time to arrange permanent capital which can be used for strengthening the playing squad.’
RC Lens are facing difficult times. Such are their problems that they could be expelled from the professional leagues altogether.
Last season they were denied promotion from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 because of financial irregularities. The decision was overturned on appeal, but they are having to deal with Ligue 1 with a squad assembled for Ligue 2. They are also having to play away from their stadium while it is renovated for Euro 2016.
This article reviews the roller coaster ride that has characterised Massimo Cellino’s tenure at Leeds United. It concedes that Cellino has done some good things for the club. One also has to assess his period at the helm in the light of the regimes that preceded him and the damage they did to the club. Few clubs have been so unfortunate in their owners.
One time Football League club Bradford Park Avenue are the latest Conference club to experience an American takeover. Barrow and Alfreton Town already have investors from the US.
Rochdale AFC are the last team to have a chance to pull off a giant killing feat in the fourth round of the FA Cup as they face Stoke tonight. Manager Keith Hill thinks they have not been given enough credit for the prudent way in which they manage their finances.
Even before yesterday’s spectacular victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Bradford City had already benefitted from their cup run to the tune of £1m. That has wiped out this year’s deficit, part of which they had hoped to come from a sell on fee had Tom Cleverly’s move to Aston Villa had been made permanent.
Cambridge United could look forward to a big boost to their revenues even if they had lost last night’s FA Cup game against Manchester United. Fans who wanted a ticket in the just under 8,000 capacity stadium were obliged to buy a half year season ticket if they were not already season ticket holders.
More than 100 football players are facing big tax demands from HM Revenue and Customs to pay back tax reliefs which the tax authorities claim constituted a form of tax avoidance. Not all the players were big earners and some face bankruptcy or losing their homes.
This year’s findings from the Deloitte football money league show total combined revenue for top 20 Money League clubs up 8% to €5.4bn.
Real Madrid retain the top spot for a ninth consecutive year with a revenue of €518.9m. Bayern Munich leapfrog Manchester United to secure third place. Paris Saint-Germain are up to fifth place with revenue of almost €400m. Liverpool are pleased to be back in the top ten.
Wang Jialin, chairman of the Dailan Wanda property group, is to buy a stake in Atlético Madrid. This represents the first Chinese investment in a top flight European club. It should help Atlético to build a fan base and attract sponsors in the key Chinese market.
Wang Jialiin is China’s second richest man with personal wealth estimated at $13.2 billion. His ambition is to build a global entertainment empire stretching from China to Hollywood. Last year his group bought the landmark Edificio Espana tower in central Madrid for €265m.