by David on January 20, 2010
Manchester United now owe creditors a mind boggling £716.5m ($1.17bn), according to its latest accounts. This is the first time that United’s debts have passed £700m
The company, called Red Football Joint Venture, is owned by the Glazer family and they secured its debts against the football club as part of its United takeover in 2005.
United’s financial officers are currently on a global trek trying to get investors to buy £500m of bonds that will be used to refinance the club’s debt.
When you have £716.5m in debt, your interest payments are huge. Last year United paid more than £69m was paid out in interest alone over the year. Read more... (144 words, 1 image, estimated 35 secs reading time)
by David on January 20, 2010
Things just keep going from bad to worse at Portsmouth.
Today former Portsmouth defender Sol Campbell has said that he is suing the Premier League club for £1.7m in unpaid fees and bonuses from his time at Pompey.
Portsmouth confirmed the receipt of the writ today and a club spokesman said: “The matter is being dealt with by our lawyers.”
Pompey are walking a financial tightrope and I would not surprise me if they became the first Premier League team to go into administration, which would carry an automatic nine-point deduction. Read more... (220 words, estimated 53 secs reading time)
by David on January 7, 2010
So Portsmouth have again failed to meet a promise to pay players their December wages.
Players were expected to be paid on Tuesday, but that was pushed back again as the club struggles to raise the cash needed. This is the third month in which the players’ wages have been delayed.
Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie hinted players may now be sold.
“If the way to keep this club alive is to sell a couple of players again, we will have to do that – but it will be an owner’s decision,” said Storrie. “If you do not sell, then you could well be going into administration.” Read more... (176 words, 1 image, estimated 42 secs reading time)
by David on January 6, 2010
Manchester City reported the impact of the first part of their spending sprees with the news that they lost £92.6m last season.
The figures are through May 2009 so they include the £32.5m signing of Brazilian star Robinho in the January transfer window, but not the summer purchases of players like Carlos Tevez, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor.
City was bought in September 2008 by Sheikh Mansour and since his arrival City have spent over £200m signing new players. Those new players have, as of yet, resulted in an increase in City’s revenues. Read more... (290 words, 1 image, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)
by David on December 31, 2009
I was shocked to read on the Chelsea web site that the team is now effectively debt free.
So what happened to the £600+million that Roman Abramovich had put into Chelsea since he bought the team? Well it appears that Amramovich turned his interest-free loan to the club into equity (shares), thus wiping out the club’s debt.
The club’s statement on this is:
“Following previous conversions of half of the debt, the remainder of the interest-free loans from the parent company, whose ultimate controlling party is Roman Abramovich, have been converted into equity making the group effectively debt free.”
In a shot at UEFA President Michael Platini Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said: Read more... (405 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)
by David on October 24, 2009
Good news for the Premiership as Barclays have extended their global title sponsorship of the Premier League for a further three years.
The new £82.25m deal is a 25 percent increase on the previous three-year contract, will run from the 2010/11 season to the end of the 2012/13 season.
“We are extremely pleased that our long established partnership with Barclays will continue for a further three seasons,” Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said in a statement. “Barclays commitment is critical to helping us continue to put on a top quality football competition that is watched and enjoyed by football fans at home as well as across the world.” Read more... (178 words, 1 image, estimated 43 secs reading time)
by David on October 6, 2009
Last week we covered that Portsmouth players had not been paid, and I asked whether Sulaiman al Fahim actually had the money to buy the club.
The answer was no, as Sulaiman al Fahim today sold Portsmouth to Saudi property magnate Ali al Faraj. Ali al Faraj is a familiar name to Pompey fans as Portsmouth executive Peter Storrie had told former, former, Portsmouth owner Sasha Gaydamak that Al Farai was interested in buying the club. But Gaydamak failed to take the advice of Storrie and sold to al Fahim. And the crisis that has engulfed Portsmouth football club began. Read more... (239 words, 1 image, estimated 57 secs reading time)
by Vincent on September 23, 2009
Fascinating look at the financial handcuffs that Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has to work with.
The Independent was able to get a hold of a prospectus published in March by investment banks Rothschild and Merrill Lynch to attract potential investors in the club. The prospectus lays out the financial framework with the next five years.
Basically Liverpool’s net annual transfer budget is locked at £20m until 2014, and that figure includes wage increases accruing from contract renewals. So basically Rafa needs to continue to sell before he can buy.
From the newspaper report:
The section of the Rothschild/Merrill Lynch document relating to “player transfer payments” states: Read more... (348 words, 1 image, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)
by David Wilson on August 2, 2009
The News of the World Sunday reported that Manchester City’s has now passed the £100million-a-year barrier.
With Robinho (£160,000 a week), Emmanuel Adebayor (£150,000), Carlos Tevez (£150,000), Gareth Barry (£120,000) and Toure (£120,000) all making over £120,000 a week, City’s wage bill has doubled in the last two years.
Since most of City’s stars are on 4-year contracts, that means that City’s Arab owner Sheikh Mansour has a £½BILLION commitment in wages alone over the next four years.
Like Chelsea, City’s wage bill is more than their annual revenue which only totals £90m a year. This is not a sustainable business model.
by David Wilson on July 14, 2009
U.S. sports tycoon Stan Kroenke has increased his stake in English Premier League soccer club Arsenal to 28.58 percent, the club said on Friday.
Arsenal (AFC.PZ) issued a statement saying Kroenke, who joined the club’s board last year and became the largest shareholder in May, paid 1.5 million pounds ($2.44 million) for another 160 shares at 8,500 pounds each.
Kroenke has leapfrogged Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who was the largest shareholder with about 25 percent.
The American businessman’s shareholding is now close to the 30 percent threshold that would force him to make an automatic offer for the remaining shares, although he has previously said he is not interested in pursuing a full buyout. Read more... (199 words, 1 image, estimated 48 secs reading time)
Manchester United now owe creditors a mind boggling £716.5m ($1.17bn), according to its latest accounts. This is the first time that United’s debts have passed £700m
