Finance – Inside World Football

Another Texan billionaire touches down in the Premier League at Everton

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:14:23 +0000

April 25 – Premier League clubs continue to attract U.S. investment, with American billionaire Christopher Sarofim, a minority shareholder in the National Football League’s (NFL) Houston Texans, becoming the latest convert to the ‘round-ball game’.

Day-to-day control of the Toffees will remain with the Friedkin Group (TFG), who purchased the club from the wildly unpopular former owner, Farhad Moshiri, last year.

Sarofim (pictured), who is part of Fayez Sarofim and Co,

Luka Modrić takes ownership position in Welsh club Swansea City

Paul Nicholson — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 02:43:22 +0000

April 22 – One the world’s greatest ever players, Luka Modrić, has joined English Championship club Swansea City as an investor and co-owner.

Croatia’s talisman and Real Madrid legend Modrić has won six Champions Leagues, six Club World Cups, five European Super Cups, four La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, and five Spanish Super Cups with Real.

He has also won the The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, The Ballon d’Or,

Quantuma breaks ground with Pendragon to save Dumbarton from liquidation

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:50:17 +0000

April 15 – Scottish League One club Dumbarton FC are set to exit insolvency proceedings following a deal struck by administrators Quantuma with Gareth Phillips of the Pendragon Group.

Dumbarton have already suffered a 15 point deduction that will see them relegated to the Scottish fourth tier at the end of the season, but Quantuma said the new deal will wipe out debt, ensure all creditors are paid in full and provide cash flow to support the club for three years.

Agents hit Premier League jackpot

Andy Elliott — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 09:11:16 +0000

April 15 – English Premier League clubs continue to spend millions on agent fees and, for the second consecutive year, Chelsea have topped the list.

The news follows figures released by the Football Association (FA) annually detailing the net amount paid to agents across the top five divisions of men’s football, along with the top two tiers of the women’s game.

From 2 February 2024 to 3 February 2025,

The post Agents hit Premier League jackpot appeared first on Inside World Football.

Bulgarian clubs in financial crisis with nine in top tier under threat of losing licenses

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 01:22:06 +0000

April 14 – The financial crisis in Bulgarian football is taking on new dimensions. The president of the Bulgarian Football Union, Georgi Ivanov (pictured), has revealed a worrying trend amongst top tier clubs, many of whom face losing their licenses due to financial.

Ivanov spoke at the annual BFU congress and announced that the licenses of nine clubs from the First League are threatened with being withdrawn for the new season due to various financial problems.

FIFA and WTO study predicts $47bn of economic impact in US for CWC2025 and World Cup in 2026

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:36:51 +0000

April 9 – FIFA’s two flagship men’s tournaments in the United States – the expanded 2025 Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup – are projected to generate a combined $47 billion in gross output and create nearly 300,000 jobs in the US, according to new research released by FIFA and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The study, conducted by independent analysts OpenEconomics, estimates that the two tournaments will contribute $62 billion to global GDP,

Zingarevich to hand 30% of Botev shares to fans’ trust to manage sale

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 01:29:57 +0000

April 7 – Botev Plovdiv owner Anton Zingarevich has taken another step towards releasing a 30% stake in the club. A few days ago the Russian businessman announced that he intends to sell the shares to fans. Now he intends to give them away.

Zingarevich, who is banned from entering Bulgaria, has had difficulties in carrying out banking operations in the country. To overcome this he plans to donate 30% of his shares,

FC32 ends financing of Austria’s SKN with immediate effect. Are Cobh Ramblers next?

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 03:15:56 +0000

April 4 – US-backed club investor FC32, led by Australian Paul Francis, which was buying its way into lower tier European clubs in a bid to develop and sell playing talent, has pulled out of second tier Austrian Club SKN St. Polten at short notice.

The FC32 investment model was to gradually buy into clubs, supplying cash over a period of time with a view to unlocking the talent existing in youth teams and club academies.

Leicester facing relegation and possible PSR charge after more losses

Andy Elliott — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 07:51:40 +0000

April 3 – Another Premier League defeat followed further grim financial news to leave Leicester City contemplating relegation and a possible profit and sustainability rules (PSR) charge.

A predictable 2-0 loss at Manchester City on Wednesday night means Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side are 12 points from safety and came after the Midlands club announced losses of £19.4million for their Championship-winning season in 2023-24.

Although the latest loss is significantly less compared to deficits of £92.5m in 2021-22 and £89.7m in 2022-23,

Barca allegedly fiddled the FFP books to get Olmo and Victor registered

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 06:45:18 +0000

April 3 – The saga over the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Victor and their eligibility to play for Barcelona in the second half of the season has resurfaced, with LaLiga saying that the club don’t have the financial headroom required to meet the squad cost limits under its financial fair play (FFP) regulations.

Spain’s sports ministry (CSD) is expected to rule this week on whether Olmo (pictured) and Victor can play again this season.

Chelsea offload Women’s team to Boehly and Clearlake’s Blueco, turning £90.2m loss into a £128.4m profit

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:14:11 +0000

April 2 – Premier League Chelsea have turned a £90.1 million pre-tax loss in 2022-23 into a £128.4 million profit 2023-24, mainly by selling core assets to its owners.

Described as a “repositioning of Chelsea Football Club Women Ltd”, the club said it “will ensure CFCW has dedicated resources, management and commercial leadership solely focused on the growth and success of the women’s team”.

Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital private equity group bought the club in May 2022 and then embarked on a remarkable spending spree on players,

Player sales put Nottingham Forest £12.1m into the black

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 10:48:26 +0000

April 2 – Nottingham Forest have reported a pre-tax profit of £12.1 million for the 2023-24 financial year, driven by £100 million in player sales. Despite recording an operating loss of £73.3 million, the club’s strong transfer market activity – including the £47.5 million sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham Hotspur—converted financial red into black.

Revenue surged to a record £189.6 million, up from £154.8 million the previous year, reflecting the financial muscle of participation in the Premier League.

Hollywood favourite Wrexham welcomes revenue boost with overseas income outstripping domestic

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 09:50:57 +0000

April 2 – Wrexham AFC has reported record-breaking revenues of £26.7 million for the 2023-24 season—outpacing many Championship clubs and setting a new financial benchmark for a League Two side. This represents a staggering 155% increase from last year’s £10.5 million and dwarfs the League Two average of £5.4 million, according to Deloitte’s most recent football finance review.

Despite the revenue boom, the Welsh club posted a £2.7 million loss for the year,

Reading on brink of bankruptcy as sale stumbles. Saad Kassis-Mohamed offers unlikely lifeline

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 08:39:56 +0000

March 28 – Gulf-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Saad Kassis-Mohamed has emerged as a potential investor in Reading FC, as the crisis-hit English third-tier club teeter on the edge of administration. His interest comes amid an increasingly desperate ownership battle, with time running out for the Royals to find a financial lifeline.

Kassis-Mohamed (pictured), chairman of Saudi Arabian regional airline Pegasus Air and founder of the WeCare Foundation, has initiated discussions over a possible stake in the League One side who last competed in the Premier league in 2013.

Everton refinance £350m of Bramley-Moore Dock stadium debt

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:53:22 +0000

March 26 – Premier League Everton have secured a £350 million financing package to refinance the costs of building their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, a move that is expected to save the club tens of millions of pounds annually in debt repayments.

The deal, arranged by Everton’s new owners, The Friedkin Group, in partnership with investment bank JP Morgan, replaces costly loans taken out under former majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri. According to the club,

Sportradar agrees deal for IMG Arena’s sports betting rights

Paul Nicholson — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 20:28:15 +0000

March 24 – Sportradar has acquired IMG Arena’s portfolio of sports betting rights increasing its coverage of tennis, football and basketball.

No money will be paid for the rights.

Instead Sportradar said the transaction provides financial consideration totalling $225 million comprised of $125 million paid to Sportradar and up to $100 million cash prepayments made by Endeavor (IMG’s parent company) to a number of the sports rightsholders.

The portfolio of rights covers 70 rightsholders and about 39,000 official data events and 30,000 streaming events across 14 global sports on six continents.