Football's Magic Money Tree

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:42 pm

Having rescued Villa within hours of Liquidation last year and then chucked a pile of money at share capital to avoid FFP, Villa's owners have stumped up another £22m in a Share Issue to the club, presumably to avoid FFP - they must be relieved with the charge up the table and form going into the play-offs

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 0700073984" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 2:27 pm

Oh the life of a footballer - who would choose it? - if you make it you have to put up with crap like this (from your team mates no less - forget the outside world)

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/sport ... ess/24/04/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and even when you are on the path (PL Academy) don't expect many to get a life out of it

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/sport ... ars/26/04/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed May 01, 2019 12:42 am

Another episode of Sky Italia's Football Benchmark - this time looking at the financial evolution of the PL in the last decade and comparing it with Serie A - don't forget that subtitles can be foun on the bottom right of the video 5th icon in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsE-geUVX08" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed May 01, 2019 10:28 am

As the big boys have pursued their endless quest for more and more money, the rise of commercial teams has become increasingly important. So much so that for many it has become their single greatest source of income. Here is a Leaders in Sport podcast with the head of Real Madrid's Commercial division (I have previously posted one with Richard Scudamore see post #838)

at the bottom of the linked page - intro from about 7:45 in - it is just over 30mins long

https://leadersinsport.com/sport-busine ... hopkinson/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed May 01, 2019 12:29 pm

I have posted this on the Bolton thread but it warrants it's place here too

@AndyhHolt was given a link to https://www.theguardian.com/football/bl ... ier-league" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, this morning - it is from 4 years ago and contains rhetoric I wouldn't necessarily agree with but was quite prophetic as to what was coming

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed May 01, 2019 12:31 pm

You lose 7 games in the last 9, are being ridiculed from all sides for your antiquated sporting structure and attempts to modernise it by putting in place people who have no experience or training in the job, yet your commercial worth to partners is supposedly increasing

the crazy economics of Manchester United's Magic Money Tree writ large

https://twitter.com/Lu_Class_/status/11 ... 4624154624" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed May 01, 2019 1:11 pm

Ah real life sets in - The glory of Spurs new Stadium with it's 50%@ additional capacity, restaurants and bars, promise of more big European nights, plus concerts, NFL - goes awry when you realise there isn't the infrastructure to support such an edifice

https://twitter.com/barneyronay/status/ ... 8862307329" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And they want to host a Champions League final soon too!

AndyClaret · Post by **AndyClaret** » Wed May 01, 2019 2:34 pm

Chester Perry wrote:Ah real life sets in - The glory of Spurs new Stadium with it's 50%@ additional capacity, restaurants and bars, promise of more big European nights, plus concerts, NFL - goes awry when you realise there isn't the infrastructure to support such an edifice

https://twitter.com/barneyronay/status/ ... 8862307329" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And they want to host a Champions League final soon too!

Not according to the replies.

Goody1975 · Post by **Goody1975** » Wed May 01, 2019 5:46 pm

AndyClaret wrote:Not according to the replies.

Exactly, he is being made to look a massive twonk there.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 02, 2019 10:50 am

@SwissRamble does his thing on the Swansea Accounts

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 6953121793" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

where it seems all those players signed to keep them up last season may not have had relegation clauses in their contracts

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 02, 2019 10:54 am

Now Reading fail to pay all their players on time - they claim it was a transfer error from the owners account and will be rectified today - but having to do that for a month when season ticket renewals tend to be on sale should be a warning

https://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/foot ... s-16211082" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 02, 2019 11:10 am

Chester Perry wrote:Now Reading fail to pay all their players on time - they claim it was a transfer error from the owners account and will be rectified today - but having to do that for a month when season ticket renewals tend to be on sale should be a warning

https://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/foot ... s-16211082" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the club have now confirmed that all players have been paid

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 02, 2019 11:26 am

Managing the cost of trying to compete enough to survive while retaining sustainable model for your club is a familiar struggle in the Premier League. Some do it for short periods others for longer (often at the largesse of seemingly generous owners). It seems that within the 14, as the big six reinforce their financial might, more are finding it a struggle to maintain the recommended balance.

https://offthepitch.com/a/eight-premier ... ting-wages" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 02, 2019 2:26 pm

Sheff Wed fail to post accounts on time, even after requesting a 2 month extension - dose this mean they could be in trouble and not from the Football authorities?

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 1625722881" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 02, 2019 5:09 pm

The list of clubs failing to pay wages on time continues to grow

Southend, who could be relegated to league 2 this weekend, failed to pay some players the day their accounts were released. The club has £13m of debt even after the owners effectively wrote off £7m last season

https://twitter.com/Iandennisbbc/status ... 6779910144" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
the financial results for last season
https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 0952690696" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 02, 2019 5:17 pm

First posted the speculation of the EFL running different transfer windows for it's leagues in post #667 - they have now confirmed it

https://www.efl.com/news/2019/may/efl-c ... fer-window" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri May 03, 2019 10:53 am

There has been plenty of discussion on here recently about club valuation and more consistently the value of our club (priceless I know) Liverpool University (@kieranMaguirre has a day job too) have done a valuation for Every Premier League club and some of the results are surprising - being without debt and making regular profit certainly helps us

https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2019/05/03 ... able-club/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have to say that I think the approach is too simplistic and probably should include an average of the method over 3 seasons as well as looking at other factors such as opportunity for growth and issues such as infrastructure age (requirements for renewal etc). Add to that - these valuations are already out of date and we are likely to see a significant dip this time next season because of drop in prize money and lack of player sales

Of course we looked at this methodology a couple of weeks ago - Aggi's post #919 made some very good observations

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri May 03, 2019 2:02 pm

Ah the perils of having your club owned by some distant benefactor seems the stories of the Qatari owners of PSG looking at English clubs may have more substance (see post #826). Though whether they are looking to ditch PSG altogether - as is widely reported in Europe - would mean a probable huge financial loss on investment.

It does appear to support the sports washing theories of reflected glory though

http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2019 ... -cold-psg/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Simon Chadwick not necessarily convinced yet

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chadwick/statu ... 9561456640" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure if an English clubs are the best solution if you want a club that wins all, given the competitive nature of our league and the relative financial might of competitors

They do have that long running relationship with Barcelona, but it is impossible for them to own that club given it's structure

Erasmus · Post by **Erasmus** » Fri May 03, 2019 2:09 pm

One can only hope that Qatar does ditch PSG as the French League at present is just a non-event. It is just a ridiculous competition and will remain as such until Qatar gets bored and looks for something else to play with.

GodIsADeeJay81 · Post by **GodIsADeeJay81** » Fri May 03, 2019 2:23 pm

I think they're getting pissy because they can't win/progress in the CL.
Neither can City though, so I don't see what the panic is.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri May 03, 2019 2:38 pm

Football in the community is something all clubs and football fans are proud about with good work being done all across the country. It is probably fair to say that a lot of this work engenders good will (and potential future support) from those impacted for the club associated with the effort. All such initiatives are supported by grants from the Premier League, but as ever, the distribution on those grants is far from equitable, meaning that many clubs through no fault of their own are disadvantaged.

@AndyhHolt has created a bit of s**tstorm with his post on the subject this morning - I have to say I have some sympathy especially as some clubs are using it as an outreach model for their academies and future fanbase and masking the approach by claiming it is charitable work

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 4763159552" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon May 06, 2019 3:02 pm

Things have been very quite on the PL replacing Richard Scudamore for a while now. This very long and informative article may explain why, arguing that there is likely very little opportunity for significant growth, either overseas or with the tech giants after amazon where given a package effectively at cost. - Warning it can get quite heavy going

https://www.offthefieldbusiness.de/sing ... eagues-CEO" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon May 06, 2019 3:12 pm

Another article on how to replace Richard Scudamore - not as crazy as it sounds given the desire to keep growing the revenue by all involved - doesn't necessarily rhyme with the previous post, but then I think it is health to have a forum for diverging views

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... r-new-head" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon May 06, 2019 4:10 pm

Another long and detailed article on footy media rights - this time looking at how legislation impacts European Media markets positively - think no single rights holder for the big 5 leagues and whether or not the rights for 2nd tier competitions should not be allowed to be carried by the principal rights holder of the 1st tier competitions.

https://www.offthefieldbusiness.de/sing ... n-Football" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon May 06, 2019 6:23 pm

Brentford are regarded by many as a model club, buy players develop them using very specialised metrics and coaching methods then sell them on for a significant profit all the while maintaining a top 10 status in the Championship, they shut their academy and will be moving to a new ground after next season. So are they all they seem.

@SwissRamble looks at their financial results for 2017/18

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 8658683904" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GodIsADeeJay81 · Post by **GodIsADeeJay81** » Mon May 06, 2019 8:20 pm

Is that £70 million of debt?????

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon May 06, 2019 10:25 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:Is that £70 million of debt?????

Yes, was waiting for someone to notice - but likely to get a chunk back as the move goes through - also in line to make a big profit this season through last summers player sales

GodIsADeeJay81 · Post by **GodIsADeeJay81** » Mon May 06, 2019 10:28 pm

It's usually the first thing I look at when checking Swiss ramble.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon May 06, 2019 10:51 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:It's usually the first thing I look at when checking Swiss ramble.

me too - owner has pumped over a £100m - best part of £70m to cover losses - he has a plan and so far it is working but that is one heck of a bet

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon May 06, 2019 11:09 pm

We at Burnley are familiar with relegation clauses in players contracts, but this is the first time I have heard of Champions League clauses - it transpires that members of Man Utd's squad (that survive into next season) will see 25% pay cuts as a result of their failure to finish in the top 4.

https://www.football365.com/news/man-ut ... cl-failure" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Mon May 06, 2019 11:13 pm

Chester Perry wrote:We at Burnley are familiar with relegation clauses in players contracts, but this is the first time I have heard of Champions League clauses - it transpires that members of Man Utd's squad (that survive into next season) will see 25% pay cuts as a result of their failure to finish in the top 4.

https://www.football365.com/news/man-ut ... cl-failure" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good! at last some sense in the mad football world,didn't seem to motivate them much in the last few weeks,mind you when you're on silly money anyway,a 25% dip won't make a huge dent.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 12:17 am

The Barca President effectively comes out in support of Andrea Agnelli's proposals for European Club competition

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... ter-united" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They stopped being "more than a club" some time ago - Biggest Revenues, Biggest Wage bill and the way they have exploited and bullied away fans in the Champions League is nothing short of a disgrace

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 1:54 am

First saw mention of DAZN (pronounced da zone - yeah I know) in posts #983 and #985, this is a player in the sports rights marketplace that is effectively seeking to be the Netflix of sport. so who are they and who runs them

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenh ... 48c59c1427" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

could this model work for domestic PL tv rights in the future, my guess is, without the strong figurehead of a Scudamore type, it would precipitate the breaking of the collective bargaining as they would want to sell season tickets by club with additional matches on PPV.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 10:31 am

@kieranMaguirre reminds us that Championship clubs have lost a combined £1.865bn over the last 5 years - With Sheff Wed and Bolton to report a third of that total came in last season for which we have accounts

https://twitter.com/KieranMaguire/statu ... 6823172098" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 10:42 am

After a few days off @AndyhHolt has returned with another of his monologues, today (as often) about the pyramid, the vast amounts of money in the game, the vast amount of clubs financially broken, the ineffective liassez-faire of the FA EFL and PL, and most depressing of all how he believes all this will kill clubs like ours and his going forwards. it pairs very well with the previous post from @KieranMaguirre

https://twitter.com/AndyhHolt/status/11 ... 9359470592" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 10:55 am

meanwhile in a galaxy not very far way at all - the ECA and PL big six must be salivating at the though of taking advantage of this

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48103067" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

fortunately they are on a little 2 day get together in Madrid together with the European Leagues ostensibly trying to agree a way forward for European competition (even though the clubs have already decided what they want),

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 11:36 am

A new podcast on the sports business, starts with a look at the rise of the premier league - on multiple platforms

https://soundcloud.com/sportinc/sport-i ... e-jan-2019" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s ... 0428384317" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Edit this is actually very informative about both what has happened and what could happen, including a good section on Man City and how they are pushing boundaries - I caution it is form a single perspective but well worth a listen

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 11:59 am

A report looking at Governance and Finances across the Big European Leagues

https://www.cies.ch/fileadmin/documents ... Final_.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A quick takeaway - PSG and Juve earn more in tv rights from UEFA competition than their domestic leagues - makes Andrea Agnelli's push understandable from his perspective

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 12:19 pm

I have been referencing Simon Chadwick for a while now - here he joins the Sports Inc podcast to talk about the eastern influence on sport that I have posted before - multiple platforms as before

https://soundcloud.com/sportinc/sport-i ... t-feb-2019" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s ... 0430063092" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 12:35 pm

The first post on this thread was about the massive revenues of Manchester United, a thousand posts later we have this article in the Times - (transcribed as behind a paywall) - what is telling is just how far out of touch United have become (the 2 podcasts posted above illustrate some examples of that) it was only last year that Woodward said on an Investor call that results on the field do not directly affect the financials

Gary Neville: Manchester United need cleansing from top to bottom

Gary Neville has called for Ed Woodward to relinquish control of Manchester United’s football operations, saying that the club has been a “shambles” under the investment banker’s leadership.

The former United and England defender has frequently expressed concern about the way the club have been run since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and the departure of the long-serving chief executive David Gill in 2013, but his latest criticism of Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, was withering.

With United missing out on Champions League qualification for the third time in six seasons, Neville has called for Woodward to focus on the corporate side of the club and hand over the football operation to people with genuine expertise.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, after Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Leicester City last night, Neville said: “The first thing they have to do is cleanse the dressing room, cleanse the club. That’s from the top to the bottom. They need someone to run the football side of the club.

“I think they should shift the people who are in charge of the club at this moment in time back into the business side of the club, back down to London. Ed Woodward has had seven years now at this, so I think he’s had his chance at running the football side of the club.”

Woodward, 47, was initially appointed by the Glazer family as their “chief of staff” after he assisted with their takeover of United in 2005 when he was working for J.P. Morgan, the investment bank. He had considerable success after overseeing an expansion of their global commercial operations, but United have struggled on the pitch since he was entrusted with the day-to-day running of the club. José Mourinho complained of a lack of a football expertise in the hierarchy, while Louis van Gaal, his predecessor, said that United is “now “a commercial club, not a football club”.

Neville is particularly alarmed that the club’s long search for a director of football or technical director has led Woodward to consider former United players such as Rio Ferdinand, Darren Fletcher and Nemanja Vidic, whether for that specific role or for senior positions as part of a restructuring. Neville said that United should be looking for “best in class” candidates for such an important role, rather than considering former players who lack experience.

“I think they should put a new football department in charge who are the best in class — not [people who] have played at the club, [but] football operators — and underneath that, then put the technical people, then the manager will find it a lot easier,” Neville said.

“There is a cultural problem at the football club. Who’s signing the players this summer? Every other football club in the country I can tell you who’s in charge of signings, I haven’t got a clue at Manchester United. They’ve still got Sir Alex’s chief scout, they’ve got Louis Van Gaal’s scout there, they’ve still got David Moyes’ chief football operator. You’ve got a head coach who has an opinion, you’ve got a CEO who has an opinion. Who’s in charge? Who has the final say?”

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 1:47 pm

More from the Times on Man Utd's (and Arsenal's) fall - This by the great writer Oliver Kay - transcribed as behind a paywall (that's my free articles this week) - if you have not listened to the podcast with Simon Chadwick (see post #1000) I recommend you do because when paired with this it shows you how far they have been left behind

Manchester United and Arsenal have crumbled into mediocrity under exploitative owners - Oliver Kay, Chief Football Correspondent

‘If I was a fan of that club, I would go ‘Wow’. Because how could you do it any better?”

The year was 2011, the man doing the talking was Stan Kroenke and the subject of the Arsenal owner’s lavish praise was the Glazer family’s much-derided ownership of Manchester United.

Wow. Just wow, Stan. It was easy enough to treat Kroenke’s comments with disdain at the time, when United were Premier League champions, having reached three Champions League finals in the previous four seasons — never mind eight years later, now that the full impact of the Glazer effect can be felt. It is not just the hundreds of millions of pounds that have been drained from United’s accounts to finance the Glazers’ leveraged takeover of the club in 2005. It is the dire decision-making from a regime that has allowed the team to drift while their beloved brand thrives.

That is all the Glazers have ever cared about at United. It is all that Kroenke has ever cared about at Arsenal. Negligent, cynical, exploitative ownership has allowed the successful regimes built by Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger to crumble into mediocrity. Arsenal have just finished outside the Premier League’s top four for the third consecutive year, United likewise for the fourth time in six seasons. Arsenal might yet win the Europa League, but nobody should doubt the size of the task that Unai Emery faces in order to reverse the sense of drift that ultimately took Wenger with it.

This is not an attempt to ignore on-pitch deficiencies and the repeated shortcomings of players and managers. There are far too many big-name players underperforming at both clubs, far too many mediocre players who have been retained for far too long and a chronic lack of on-pitch leadership and, for want of a better word, backbone. The best United and Arsenal teams, in their glory years under Ferguson and Wenger, were a fearsome combination of silk and steel. These two teams have neither.

There is plenty of blame to go around at both clubs — at players, at managers, at chief executives — but surely it is clear that the rot started at the top. Everything that Manchester City and Liverpool do these days is the result of long-term planning, working towards a unified vision and clear philosophy. At Arsenal and United, everything looks muddled.

Sometimes they are incredibly, damagingly passive. At times, in rare surges of desperation to quell the discontent among the fanbase, they have been hopelessly, cluelessly reactive. The various contracts that both clubs signed in January 2018 (United extending José Mourinho’s contract and making Alexis Sánchez the highest-paid player in the Premier League, Arsenal making Mesut Özil the highest-paid player in their history while also taking Henrikh Mkhitaryan in part-exchange for Sánchez) really are worthy of a special exhibit in the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, said in an interview with the United We Stand fanzine in 2013 that “spending more than you should on a player can have negative consequences […] on other players in the team and also on the player who has the burden of being the most expensive player in Manchester United’s history. It also has a knock-on effect on the salaries of the other players. A perception that we overpay is not a good thing either.”

Read that paragraph again. Woodward said that in 2013. He then proceeded to sign Wayne Rooney (on a renewed deal) and Juan Mata in the same month; Ángel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao on huge contracts even though it quickly became clear that Louis van Gaal had little sense of how to use either of them; Paul Pogba in a world-record £89 million transfer which the club seemed to celebrate more wildly than their FA Cup triumph earlier that year; Sánchez on a deal worth in excess of £350,000 a week, which, even before the forward began to turn in abject performances, aroused resentment among other players in the United dressing room.

On Sky Sports last night, Gary Neville, the former United defender, was withering in his criticism of Woodward, who has run the club in the six years since Ferguson and David Gill, the former chief executive, departed in the same fateful summer. “They need someone to run the football side of the club,” Neville said. “I think they should shift the people who are in charge of the club at this moment in time back into the business side of the club, back down to London. Ed Woodward has had seven years now at this, so I think he’s had his chance at running the football side of the club.”

Woodward has the Glazers’ total trust, though, because, for them, this is a multi-billion-dollar asset with a football team attached — rather than the other way around. They do not question that three of the senior figures within the club (Woodward, the group managing director Richard Arnold and the head of corporate development Matthew Judge) are chartered accountants who knew each other at Bristol University and then worked together at Price Waterhouse Coopers. Woodward’s judgment is not questioned. If the club need a new manager or (as is still the case now) a director of football or technical director, the Glazers trust him to find the right one, even though all previous evidence might warn against it.

Arsenal? There is a little less acceptance of mediocrity since Kroenke gave more influence to his son, Josh, who undertook an extended fact-finding visit to London last year and reported back with a sense of alarm about just how bad things were, but it still looks far too complacent, far too accepting of on-pitch mediocrity even amid the indignity of finishing below Tottenham Hotspur again. As at United, there is still a vacancy for a director of football. There is still nobody with the expertise to establish a genuine strategy, let alone to implement it.

Is any of this surprising? No, because football is not the owners’ priority at either club — and it shows. Both clubs are drifting aimlessly under negligent ownership. To twist Kroenke’s quote and throw it back at him, if you were a fan of either club, you would say ‘Wow’. Because how could you do it any worse?

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 3:00 pm

Hot on the heels of that CIES report on governance and finance in the big 5 leagues we have the a Sky football Benchmark episode on competitiveness in the Champions League - specifically looking at how clubs outside the big 5 leagues have been marginalised as a result of successive tweeks to the competition - the biggest winner financially appears to be Juventus (no great surprise) and further iterates why Andrea Agnelli is keen to make that benefit as close to a permanent state as he possibly can. It also underlines the findings of that CIES report that UEFA monies from their competitions transforms the financial picture for a lot of European clubs.

In Italian with subtitles available on the 5th icon in from the bottom right

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ7ofmMb1Po" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Edit: this article by KPMG is in the same vain with more detail

https://www.footballbenchmark.com/libra ... _leftovers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 3:08 pm

As if to confirm those comments by Ed Woodward and referred to in a number of today's posts we have

https://twitter.com/MikeKeegan_DM/statu ... 0130217984" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

compare this to Juventus on course to win another league title (8 on the bounce) and qualify for Champs League again with ease, when knocked out at quarter final stage by Ajax

https://twitter.com/Football_BM/status/ ... 9239417858" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue May 07, 2019 5:50 pm

Mentioned in post #997 that there is a little 2 day get together in Madrid to discuss the future of European Football. It has been organised by The European Leagues Association who are looking to bring together Clubs, fans and leagues - I had been wondering why the ECA had no mention of this on any of their media channels - now I have found out - Andrea Agnelli did not want the clubs to hear a different message.

https://twitter.com/RobHarris/status/11 ... 6231274498" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 09, 2019 9:59 am

The increasing disparity of the Pl - big 6 v the other 14 points trend, bar the Leicester blip

The investment at Everton, Wolves, Leicester and even West Hamhas a chance of making it a more 50:50 balance but still nothing like it once was

https://twitter.com/afcb_r0b/status/1126382214671994880" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 09, 2019 10:15 am

The knockout rounds of the champions league this year have been quite wonderful, both for the drama and often the sheer quality of football that has been played. Andrea Agnelli would argue that this is what he is trying to guarantee for the competition going forward (the Ajax result against Juventus and Madrid aside). The Telegraph have consistently stood against the Agnelli gameplan - this week has given them opportunity to pleas the case again. - Behind a paywall so transcribed

Shameful Champions League proposals backed by Barcelona are rife with self-interest and would stifle evolution - Sam Wallace - Chief Football Writer

Whatever pain was inflicted on Barcelona on Tuesday night, whatever fin de siècle mood hung over that grim flight home in the early hours, it will not have changed what the club’s president – and the club itself - think about the proposed changes post-2024 to Champions League.

A week earlier, in the reflected glory of that 3-0, first-leg win, Josep Bartomeu had announced his support for the proposals that would rip the heart out of what will be by then a once-great competition.

“We’re going to change it for the better,” he said, and by that he meant an end to the old principle of annual qualification, and more certainties for the old aristocratic clubs of Europe. More of those pre-season tour-style heritage games of one stupendously rich club against another, from here to eternity.

Clubs like Barcelona think they need this new Champions League more than ever. This closed-shop, de facto European super league by the back door; this made-for-television, new-markets conquering, big football, big greed, destruction of the last vestiges of a beautiful, original idea.
That idea being that it would be wonderful to watch the champions of Europe play one another to see who prevailed. To experience new styles of playing, develop new tastes, a feisty Barolo after a crisp glass of Meursalt.

Barcelona are getting old. The team that lost 4-0 to Liverpool is on the slow descent from a high peak, and one that has given the club many trophies. It is not a crisis, certainly not domestically where they are one final from a second consecutive league and cup double, but in Europe you get the feeling they have relied on the same great players for too long. Six who started at Anfield are 30-something, 100-plus cap internationals - heroes all of them but that is a lot for one team.

How do you replace Messi, 32 next month, in possession of 129 caps and an undeniable genius? The answer is that you cannot. Then you look down the list and remember you soon have to find a new Gerard Pique (32, 102 caps), Luis Suarez (32/106), Sergio Busquets (30/112), Ivan Rakitic (31/104) and even Artur Vidal (31/105). Bartomeu has to try. But if he supports Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli’s post-2024 Champions League bonfire then that says the president of Barcelona is not prepared to adhere to the oft-stated principles of his more-than-a-club club.

All great teams fall eventually. More often they fade, as this Barcelona have done in recent years in Europe; a gradual falling short in the games that matter. But in the modern era, when clubs are run like global corporations, it is not possible for the great commercial beasts of the age to accept this immutable law of the game. What’s more, there is nothing they will not tear up to try to preserve their status.

Barcelona do not have as much money as they would like. They do, however, have the highest annual wage bill in European football, at €639 million. They have an agreement to sign Frenkie De Jong, one of the standout talents of this season’s Champions League. Like Real Madrid, short on cash, committed on wages, Barcelona prefer deals which spread the cost of the transfer fee over a number of years, and Ajax are the kind of club who do this.

Last July, Barcelona extended a credit line of €140m to pay their wage bill. There is a new stadium project to finance. The executive failed in an attempt to change the club’s constitution that limits long-term borrowing to 10 per cent of revenue – currently €914m.

When Bartomeu says the Champions League is going to change for the better after 2024, what he really means is that the likes of Juventus, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and his own club cannot afford not to change it.

The wealth gap to the Premier League has become so great that they are running out of options to close it. Their own domestic leagues have been coerced and corralled into giving up a greater share to the elite and now it is time to look elsewhere.

It is hard for any club to replace the greatest player in their history. Thanks to Messi’s adaptation, and his enduring brilliance, Barcelona do not have to just yet.

Barcelona reacted to Neymar’s departure the only way they knew: by taking other top clubs’ best players. Yet the Liverpool team that won on Tuesday night included players signed for much less from clubs like Hull City, Lille, Schalke and Southampton. Some in Barcelona’s position would take a long, hard look at their recruitment. But men like Bartomeu and Agnelli think it is the Champions League that must change and not them.

Barcelona first competed in the European Cup in 1960 and did not win it until 32 years later. Madrid once went 32 years without a European Cup between 1966 and 1998. Bayern Munich went 25 years. Juventus have lost seven finals. Clubs rise and clubs fall. Change for the better after 2024? No. It is change to maintain a status quo in a competition that does not need one and has thrived for most of its 64-year history without one.

For the last five years the Cristiano Ronaldo- Lionel Messi axis has dominated the Champions League, one of the two having won it every season - but not this season.

Perhaps one, or both, is still due a last triumph but either way they cannot indefinitely stop others emerging to challenge.
We do not need nights like Tuesday to tell us that.
But that day is coming and there has already been around €300m staked on Philippe Coutinho, ineffective in the second leg against Liverpool, and Ousmane Dembele. The latter was injured at the weekend, and seems to have trouble living the way a professional athlete should. There are penalties built into the deal with Borussia Dortmund should Dembele be sold early.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 09, 2019 10:21 am

Just to emphasise the gap for the top six here is a revised earnings from the Champions League this year by @SwissRamble now we know the finalists.

https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/ ... 1322566656" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Should say this is just from Uefa/TV and does not include matchday receipts

and the Premier League is favourite to have both the finalists in the Europa League too - I don't believe that has ever happened before (having all 4 finalists from the same league)

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 09, 2019 10:29 am

More on the Champions League - I have posted a few times about Barcelona exploiting away fans for tickets and about Uefa and it's ticket allocations to the Europa League final. But what the hell are UEFA thinking with these prices

Liverpool given an allocation of 16,613 tickets for the CL final.
Category 1: £513 (£410 restricted view)
Category 2: £385 (£308 restricted view)
Category 3: £154 (£120 restricted view)
Category 4: £60
UEFA not offering any concessions. Just 100 adult/junior combined tickets, priced at £120 per pair

not to mention restricted views in a supposedly new stadium

Edit - the costs keep mounting as everyone except those that matter - the fans - appears to believe "Greed is Good"

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... or-success" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 09, 2019 11:00 am

There was a debate on English football in the Lords last night as Spurs prepared for that game in Ajax - topics included were governance by EFL, the "fit and proper" test, ownership (including supporters being forced by law to sell shares) amongst others. Hansard transcribed it for all to read

https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/201 ... shFootball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu May 09, 2019 1:38 pm

Football 365 on the calamity of the ownership rules in the EFL

https://www.football365.com/news/unfit- ... gue-owners" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;