Football's Magic Money Tree

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Jan 28, 2018 12:30 am

And we thought FFP had no impact - Guardiola claims City cannot pay top fees and wages -

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... 80m-player" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Jan 29, 2018 1:56 pm

Bit of a sensationalist story (no surprise) but underlying is the difficulty even the biggest clubs are finding in funding big projects and team development at the same time (oh how RM must wish for the state aid of the 90's - though I believe Brussels hasn't finished on that investigative front)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... nabeu.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is just a further illustration of the difficulties Chelsea are currently finding themselves in, Daniel Levy is trying to resolve at Spurs and why Arsenal have won so little since their move (and they benefitted more than anyone ever will from the value of Highbury as a housing development).

Also given the origin of the fund that now owns Cespa (Abu Dhabi investment fund - Mubadala)- do we witness political intrigue that benefits Man City and to a lesser extent PSG

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 2:58 pm

BBC have secured Match of the Day Highlights for another 3 seasons

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42873526" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bin Ont Turf · Post by **Bin Ont Turf** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 2:59 pm

Chester Perry wrote:BBC have secured Match of the Day Highlights for another 3 seasons

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42873526" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I bet we're on last.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:13 pm

Bin Ont Turf wrote:I bet we're on last.

as long as we are on who cares - it means we are beneficiaries of the Magic Money Tree

Royboyclaret · Post by **Royboyclaret** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:34 pm

".......And we thought FFP had no impact - Guardiola claims City cannot pay top fees and wages - ......."

Guardiola makes me smile. He's at pains to tell us City can't pay £90m for a player and yet within 24 hours they secure the services of Laporte at £57m and bid £60m for Mahrez.

It's all relative, of course, but there'll soon come a point (probably the '19/'20 season and the revised TV deal) that we have to up our game at Turf Moor. If we're still around at the top table then a £25m/£30m purchase has to be considered with a realistic increase in upper salary levels quickly following.

It has to remain small steps for us but Mr. Garlick will need to loosen the purse strings, a £30m profit in the next set of accounts to be published followed by an even higher figure for this season on the back of a £30m profit from two years ago will not sit easily with an element of our fan base.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:54 pm

Roy just about to post that the Laporte deal has taken his city spending over £450m in 18 months with Pep as manager - if the Mahrez one is true that would be well over £500m

ElectroClaret · Post by **ElectroClaret** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 4:17 pm

Royboyclaret wrote:".... will not sit easily with an element of our fan base.

tbh, Royboy, winning the Champions League five years running wouldn't
satisfy that particular element.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 4:34 pm

Pep responds to critics of his spend and defends his outlay

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... orte-571m/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:36 am

That new MotD deal is just a £7m increase on the current one - is this good value? - I suppose we will find out after next month's auction for the live matches

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... ights.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:23 am

I suspect the Premier League is willing to take a slight hit on the amounts they can get for this in order to keep highlights on terrestrial TV and keep the appeal broad.

Rick_Muller · Post by **Rick_Muller** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:37 am

stolen this from Twitter, so not sure about accuracy - quick check holds up though...

: pep.jpg (97.07 KiB) Viewed 6840 times

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:23 am

Interesting piece in the Telegraph about City and it's confidence in managing FFP - behind the paywall so here you go - remember you can sign up for 1 free article a week

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... nding-big/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How Manchester City won the battle with UEFA to keep spending big

There is not a single mention of Uefa financial fairplay regulations in any of the 70 pages of Manchester City’s most recent financial report, and one can only assume that is because after ten years of fighting the power in Nyon, the club think they have finally won the battle.

The Abu Dhabi transformation of City has reached all parts of the club, a ferocious upscaling of an institution that was nowhere near its first-world competitors in 2008, and has done so in spite of FFP, the most intensive regulatory period in European football history. This window City have demonstrated that the club will buy the players Pep Guardiola wants, be that the long-term targets like Aymeric Laporte or the decision to bid around £60 million for Riyad Mahrez, just in order to cover the injured Leroy Sane.

The City team that won the Premier League titles of 2012 and 2014 have, with a few exceptions, been cleared out in the last three years, and replaced with the younger players that Guardiola has drilled into the runaway league leaders. Yet the appetite of the club this window to push on again and consolidate a winning position – in the £57 million deal for Laporte, as well as the abandoned attempt to sign Mahrez - is the strongest example yet of their faith that their commercial expansion will keep pace.

How have they done it? City’s most recent accounts in November recorded record revenues, up to £473 million from £392 million the previous year. The Deloitte Money League placed City in fifth place behind Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich with a turnover of €528 million although it would be right to say that both Manchester clubs have had growth relative to Eurozone rivals eaten up by the effect on the pound of post-Brexit referendum exchange rates.

Factoring in a 15 per cent drop in the pound makes United’s performance, at the top of Europe, remarkable. As for City, that extra 15 per cent would have pushed them up to a revenue of around €610 million, ahead of Bayern on €588 million and on the tails of Barcelona and Madrid. It is this growth in revenue, which the club have driven year after year which has given them the confidence that they will be able to back Guardiola, and suggests that the club believe there will be another major improvement in their commercial figures again this year.

Of course, the questions remain over the ten-year £400 million marquee deal with the Abu Dhabi airline Etihad for stadium and shirt rights, although signed in 2011, City have grown into the kind of club capable of commanding that figure. By contrast, Real Madrid, for instance, have been unable to get their naming rights deal with Abu Dhabi energy company IPIC over the line with the new Bernabeu because of the stalling of the rebuilding programme, while in the meantime City have used their own as a platform to get more.

Their partnerships with Korean tyre manufacturer Nexen, German software company SAP, Israeli website development platform Wix, Australian vintners Wolf Blass and the US retail and content giant Amazon are some of those commercial deals. But the expectation is that there will be another leap forward in the next financial year and that the boldness in investing around £450 million in Guardiola’s squad, as well as salaries, in the last 18 months is a sign of that confidence.

The headline transfer figures are paid over the course of a player’s contract - Laporte, for instance, will represent £9 million in FFP terms this season - and there were clear signs in the last accounts, with small profits on player trading, that there was scope for an increase in investment in spite of what had already been paid to build Guardiola’s team. The wages to turnover ratio was at 56 per cent which also offers some leeway to the club’s controlling forces should they be forced into a quick decision by injury.

It is simply a continuation of the aggressive player acquisition that has driven on-field success and in turn the greater revenue that comes with it. “Some clubs spend £300 million to £400 million on two players,” Guardiola said this week, “we spend £300 million on six players”. It has been critical that City can sell the success of the club to commercial partners in order to keep themselves FFP compliant and this season, more than ever, has proved to them that is possible.

Guardiola had wanted Alexis Sanchez, of course, a less expensive fee than Mahrez but a major investment in wages nonetheless and the club’s decision to pass up on the Chilean showed that there is a limit to what they are willing to pay. Neither are they prepared to leave it to the like of teenagers Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz to fill whatever gaps they might perceive to have among their attacking players, when their whole philosophy has been based upon the aggressive acquisition of those who can slot in immediately.

The current Uefa FFP rules permit clubs to lose no more than €30 million over the scope of three-year periods, and City Football Group’s entire structure is established with that in mind, including the four other satellite clubs in Australia, Japan, the United States and Uruguay. Last year, having complied with the conditions imposed by Uefa, their €60 million FFP fine from 2014 was reduced by €40 million, and now more than ever the club looks insured against new Uefa measures.

The club are in a position to deal with the expectation that FFP could change again to a simple net transfer cap of €100 million per year, and there may even be a time in the next ten years when they rival the big four in Europe for a place at the very top of the aforementioned money league. Should they reach that point, their place in the establishment will be irreversible.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:30 am

Meanwhile Utd will come under very public pressure today to ensure they pay all their staff a living wage - Sanchez scrapes by we understand

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... ving-wage/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:56 pm

While it has been a record breaking transfer window overall it is surprising how little was spent outside the top six (and even there you have a lot of low net spends) - is this down to perceived value vs need, wages or something else - only Everton who want to be a big big club spent over £20m net.

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

Imagine if City had got the players they wanted this window (that could have been another £150m+ spend)

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:49 pm

Rick_Muller wrote:stolen this from Twitter, so not sure about accuracy - quick check holds up though...

pep.jpg

Surely there must have been someone in the youth team instead of spending £52 million on Aymeric Laporte?

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Feb 02, 2018 1:18 pm

The speculation over the next round of tv rights is going to be rabid in the next couple of weeks - with bluff and bluster from the likely bidders as they try to keep a lid on their intentions. Here is an interesting side swerve by BT who say they are going to be very controlled in their bidding - who are they talking to - is it SKY, or the stock market or both.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/ ... gue-rights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Feb 02, 2018 6:36 pm

Missed this yesterday - in reality it only adds a bit of filling to some of the other posts on this thread - but I am all for a fuller picture

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Feb 03, 2018 9:08 pm

An article bemoaning that teams that do it the right way may never win anything again (Spurs focus) due to the benefactor approach

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Feb 03, 2018 9:34 pm

This is not the kind of distraction BT could do without during the bidding period - though it may have clubs, players and agents more alarmed

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... nsionology" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... r-low.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 1:29 pm

So first bids due in tomorrow for the next round of domestic TV rights - what do you think will happen - here's a decent overview for the uninitiated

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42164708" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Feb 08, 2018 3:06 pm

Back where we started this thread - Manchester Utd half year financial results - a £29m loss after an accounting charge of almost £49m for US tax cuts!

will have no bearing on FFP though

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 00481.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Feb 09, 2018 1:09 am

The Premier League appears to be bracing itself for a modest rise in domestic tv rights (I cannot say I would be surprised by this turn in events and there are the international rights to make up for it - according to utd today the global audience figures are still rising steadily - up 9% last season

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... g-process/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sat Feb 10, 2018 1:59 pm

So we go into a second round of bidding for at least some of the packages - is this because the:
- threshold has not been reached
- 2 or more bidders are close
- lack of completion which does not enable the split between rival broadcasters that the regulators and bid rules require

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... first-day/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:30 pm

As we all wait for the result of the bids for domestic TV rights here's a little distraction

the top 50 most expensively assembled squads in football - we are at 41 but reads as 37 (wow)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... squad.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All 20 Premier League clubs make that top 50 with Bournemouth (Interesting) Brighton and Huddersfield below us

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 6:38 pm

Premier League have announced that 5 of the 7 packages have been sold to BT and SKY - mid week and Bank holiday packages left with multiple bidders - £4.5 billion so far - on target to increase overall revenue but not by much - Sky wining 4 -1 over BT

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 6:42 pm

Sky announcing they already have more games than ever before - and can still bid for another package - also unlikely to have increased their previous spend so far

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/ ... gh-to-2022" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sidney1st · Post by **Sidney1st** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 6:44 pm

So it's imperative we stay in the PL for as long as possible.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 6:49 pm

it has always been the case Sidney

BBC now posted a report

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43002985" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 6:52 pm

looking at what's left - I would be surprised if it goes beyond the total from last time - Sky have pulled that one out of the bag - 1st choice every weekend and 2nd choice most of the others.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:03 pm

Now had my suspicions confirmed - Sky have paid £0.5 less for more matches and more high priority picks and continuation of their established schedule bankers - great for them and their shareholders

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43002985" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:12 pm

Get this

To surpass the revenue made from the last TV rights deal, however, they will have to sell the remaining 40 matches still up for grabs at £16.9m each.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/articl ... z571b00Ksj" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

for context Sky have effectively paid £9.3m per match - BT £9.22m per match - no way that the final packages will meet these figures given concurrent viewing

Still the International rights should make up for this and more interestingly (if current share practices are maintained) lead to a more equal distribution of monies across the league

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 12:53 am

and so it begins - murmurings in the press that the "big six" want to force though a redistribution of the overseas monies now that the domestic rights have hit a ceiling

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... ue-rivals/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

to be fair this has been running for months if not longer and will get more pronounced as the news of the International deals comes in - take China as an example - current deal around $70m for the three years it is being said that the next 3yr deal has been agreed at around $700m

You have to say this is where American sport is clever from a Business perspective - it understands the need for a reasonably level playing field - so guaranteed income, salary thresholds, no relegation, draft picks(and the whole college system) work against long term/perpetual domination by a very few. Best of all is the rule that you can go over the thresholds but you have to match dollar for dollar into the league itself.

I prefer the ups and downs of promotion/relegation but that very risk is what is driving the big six to determine ways in which they can seek to maximise their opportunities to maintain their dominance

aggi · Post by **aggi** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:49 am

The expectation was always that domestic rights would slow down until innovation (streaming, buying one-off matches, season tickets for individual clubs, etc) gave a reason for an increased value.

Overseas rights are where the growth is expected to be. Although realistically this growth is driven by the big clubs it is hard to tell whether they, and the league, would be as popular without the supporting cast of smaller clubs.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Sun Feb 18, 2018 4:24 pm

This clearly illustrates my point above about how the American sports get it right - here we a have a comparison between NFL and football

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_1tWExrvA8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

impossible without a closed world leading league - but could see a European super league operating like this in the future

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 2:12 pm

win a few FA cups, fail to qualify for Champions league (admittedly have a great history and following) get a £30m per year shirt sponsorship and an opportunity for another £5m-£10m for sleeve sponsorship - and they wonder why we don't want to change the divvy up the international tv rights

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/201 ... ates-2024/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spijed · Post by **Spijed** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:10 pm

Chester Perry wrote:This clearly illustrates my point above about how the American sports get it right - here we a have a comparison between NFL and football

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_1tWExrvA8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

impossible without a closed world leading league - but could see a European super league operating like this in the future

But do American sports get it right?

They don't have teams, they have franchises. Remember what happened to Wimbledon and MK Dons? As a result, teams can up sticks and move to other cities, leaving behind fans of the team. In addition they play a number of matches abroad.

Imagine if the 39th game came to fruition in the Premier league. Would it be fair that as a season ticket holder we might have to fly to India or China to see the Clarets in a league game.

The Americans don't care about that and their system is far from perfect as a result.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:28 pm

Interesting article in the guardian about the opacity of ownership in Pitch International a TV rights reseller heavily involved with the Football League and FA - points quite heavily towards the Quatari Investment fund without being able to confirm anything -makes the link to the requirement of transparency of ownership of clubs for both the EFL and FA and the direct opposite for an organisation that helps them sell TV rights around the world

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:45 pm

Leicester have finally paid their fine for FFP in their promotion season after reaching agreement with the FA - seems to be a substantially reduced figure with the EFL making excuses on their behalf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43146018" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 11:51 am

Liverpool's accounts are out for the last full year - the new stand brought an extra £12m in gate receipts but will take some time to pay off and they are still miles behind the really big boys in revenues.

To those who think we have a state of the art training facility for around £11m - Liverpool are about to spend £50m on their new one (not knocking Gawthorpe - it is wonderful for our club but small fry in comparison, just like us)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... last-year/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Should have also said that they turned a very healthy post tax profit of £39m

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

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 2:10 pm

meanwhile Arsenal are feeling the costs of not being in the Champions league in their half year results

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... champions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 5:41 pm

Leicester on the other hand are positively revelling in the riches champions league participation brought them - a £92m profit last season - wow

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43262780" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 10:23 pm

Seems like the Premier League are finding it challenging packaging the remaining rights in a way that is attractive enough for the broadcasters to pay them what they are looking for - it is now believed the sale will not conclude until the summer at the earliest.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... ld-almost/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

piston broke · Post by **piston broke** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 10:41 pm

Chester Perry wrote:Seems like the Premier League are finding it challenging packaging the remaining rights in a way that is attractive enough for the broadcasters to pay them what they are looking for - it is now believed the sale will not conclude until the summer at the earliest.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... ld-almost/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note the final paragraphs saying Sky can only buy one of the two remaining packages but if there are no sensible bids, ie. Sky takes one package and BT bid £1 for the other, would they have an argument for allowing Sky to bid and take it to court.
I can't remember if the division of rights was decided in UK or EU courts.

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:15 pm

division of rights was negotiated with Ofcom with a nod from the European regulators

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Fri Mar 09, 2018 4:04 pm

Well this got lost in everything else this week - West Ham post record figures with £43m of profits - but get this - the hard won fight to move to the Olympic Stadium generated the club virtually no extra profit it says in the published accounts - ouch!!

https://www.football.london/west-ham-un ... m-14373023" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:32 pm

CIES have released there rankings of the European based players whose transfer value has increased the most between last September and now - there is a double surprise in the top 50 - the fact we only have one entry and which player that is - will you guess it correctly

http://www.football-observatory.com/?lang=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Stalbansclaret · Post by **Stalbansclaret** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:50 pm

I didn't no.....and if correct then much weeping in South Wales. However I reckon Ashley Barnes might well soon be worth around £25m in this lunatic market and was probably worth around 10% of that at the start of the season,

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:59 pm

personally would have thought Tarks, Barnes and Pope would have been higher than Cork or is that how much an England Call-up does for you. And that is no disrespect to Cork who has had a blinder of a season.

Sidney1st · Post by **Sidney1st** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:26 pm

Look at Pickford on that list...
Look at the estimates and then remember what he's been sold for.

That's a little bit out.