FootBiz newsletter #49: Barcelona count cost of Camp Nou delay, Real Madrid elections, Chelsea investment

As someone who doesn’t enjoy feeling a sudden urge for planet Earth to crash into the nearest star, vaporising every living creature instantly, I decided not to watch the inauguration of the new president of the United States yesterday, nor his rally the night before.

And so it turns out I missed a bright orange shout-out for FIFA’s fawner-in-chief Gianni Infantino from the incoming president, a shout-out that Infantino described as “an incredible honour”.

“This is FIFA at the maximum of its respect, being mentioned by the new President of the United States of America in his victory rally is unique, is beautiful,” he said.

“I would like to thank President Trump, with whom I have a great friendship, and to assure him that, together, we will make not only America great again, but also the entire world, of course, because football – or soccer – unites the world.”

Now, I’m not sure Gianni has been paying close enough attention to the policies and rhetoric of Mr Trump if he thinks he cares about making the entire world great (or, to that point, united) but it might end up being a test of Infantino’s ability to unite the world if US relations with its neighbours (and co-hosts) to the north and south continue to head… well, south. There is a World Cup to organise, after all.

Back in Europe, we have our first-ever Champions League matchday in January. Previously the window was out of the question as squads could be changing and domestic cup competitions have the meat of their schedule in the first month of the calendar year, but in UEFA’s land-grab for more fixtures for the Swiss model, two January gameweeks for the Champions and Europa Leagues will now be a fixture.

As much as the bloated schedule causes a domino effect of issues around the continent, next week’s league phase finale should at least provide some chaos - which usually means entertainment.

Among the big clubs staring at a CL exit are PSG (currently crashing out entirely), Manchester City (clinging onto a playoff spot) and Real Madrid (only a point ahead of City).

And in a wonderful twist, PSG play Man City at the Parc des Princes tomorrow night in a game that could end with one of them staring down the barrel of elimination.

Table of Contents

• Real Madrid election news

• Results unlikely to Spur change

• PSR update

• Barca push back Camp Nou return

• Man United’s ‘worst team ever’

• Snap judgement

• M&A Murmurs

Real Madrid election news

Florentino Perez has been re-elected as president of Real Madrid after nobody stood against him once again.

Any challenger would almost certainly have been swept aside with ease by the septuagenarian construction magnate, who was won(?) four consecutive uncontested elections since returning as club president in 2013. Perez was previously in charge of the club from 2000 to 2006, the Galactico period, before returning to power in 2009 in an election where no other candidates could provide the bank guarantees necessary. The rules governing who can run have also gradually made it more difficult for opponents to stand over the past decade, requiring a higher financial threshold and longer, continuous membership of the club to be eligible to run for president.

Four new board members were also announced as part of Perez’s return.

Angel Sanchez, who has long been considered the most powerful man at the club not named Florentino Perez, has joined the board until 2029 alongside fellow club executive Manuel Redondo Sierra. Manuel Gomez Barrera is a key link to peñas, supporters groups that carry much influence, and joins the board too.

The most interesting addition is Francisco Garcia Sanz, a lifelong Real Madrid fan who made his money in the automotive sector with General Motors and then Volkswagen, where he is a board member. Garcia Sanz served on the board of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg from 2009-2018. The club is owned by Volkswagen, having begun its existence as a sports club for its employees.

Results unlikely to Spur change

As Tottenham’s comical run of form continues, dropping them to 15th in the Premier League table despite having the fourth-highest revenue and fourth-highest wage bill, the question has turned to whether or when they will make a change.

Ange Postecoglou’s admirably stubborn stance throughout the season has been that they hired him to play his brand of football, and so he will continue to do that whatever happens.

When the team is closer to the relegation zone than the top half, the “whatever happens” just starts to become the bigger concern.

After speaking to a couple of people who are a lot closer to the situation than us, it sounds like Spurs won’t be reaching for the ejector button quite yet. For one, they are still in the Europa League and have the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg coming up, which they take a 1-0 lead into.

Even if they got to the final, it’s worth remembering that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has fired a coach before the Carabao Cup final before, binning Jose Mourinho and installing Ryan Mason as interim boss for Wembley. Mason is still part of the coaching staff and would be the natural choice to perform the same role if it came to it.

But more relevant than any of the above, there is a feeling that there aren’t many strong candidates who would want to join at this point in the season. If there’s movement on Postecoglou, it appears more likely to happen closer to the summer - if at all.

PSR update

The absence of any charges for Profit and Sustainability breaches this season (confirmed last Tuesday) should be uniformly good news for the Premier League and all 20 clubs, yet as is often the case regarding the top-flight's financial regulations the situation is more complicated than that.

Leicester and Chelsea could still have a case to answer, while many clubs are privately asking whether the Premier League are capable of enforcing their own rules. As we discussed in last week's newsletter Leicester were expected to escape a charge despite posting combined pre-tax losses of £182.5m in the first two years of the 2021/24 accounting period, but given such lavish spending it was unclear how they had done so.

Various theories were doing the rounds in football, including suggestions of property sales to raise revenue or Leicester spotting a loophole in the Premier League rules relating to season T which may have enabled the club to spend an additional £22million last season, but the truth was more prosaic.

The Premier League have appealed against the ruling of an independent commission last summer that Leicester were not under their jurisdiction for the 2020/23 accounting period as they were relegated to the Championship at the end of that final season. All Leicester's financial issues are therefore on hold until there has been a definitive judgement accepted by both parties over which league they were in for PSR purposes in June 2023 and June 2024.

As their accounts have not been made public it remains possible that Leicester were permitted a bigger PSR allowance when they were in the Championship last season, or sold some assets in order to comply following the example of Chelsea, who avoided a PSR breach for 2020/23 by raising £76.5m through hotel sales and sold the club's women's team to a sister company, Blueco 22 Midco, last summer. As an Associated Party Transaction that deal has be ratified as being done at fair-market value by the Premier League, a process which is yet to be completed, and could lead to a charge if the sale price is deemed to be too high.

Any issues flagged by the Premier League would almost certainly lead to a legal challenge from Chelsea, and recent history would be on their side.

While the Premier League eventually succeeded in defeating a Manchester City-led rebellion to get new APT rules introduced in November they have suffered significant defeats this season to Leicester and Everton, who learned last Friday that £6.5m in interest payments relating to their new stadium will not be retrospectively added to their 2020/23 PSR calculation, as the Premier League had demanded.

Given the Premier League's recent record at arbitration and in front of independent commissions, it is little wonder that many clubs are questioning whether rulebook is fit for purpose.

Barca push back Camp Nou return

As Rob had been trailing in recent newsletters, Barcelona needed to make a decision or some serious moves quickly if they were to be able to move into the renovated Camp Nou before the end of the season.

The club has now announced that it won’t be back in their old, new digs until May at the earliest after extending their stay at the Olympic Stadium at Montjuic until the end of April.

Barcelona’s original plan was to be back in the Camp Nou by the end of 2024, but in October they pushed it back to the “second half of the season”.

As things stand, their first home game at the renovated stadium would be against arch rivals Real Madrid in el clásico on May 10, but another delay would cause serious issues for everyone as the Rolling Stones are due to play at Montjuic on the same night.

Beyond the inconvenience, the lost revenue is significant for Barca as they try to dig themselves out of a financial hole caused by delusional over-spending and an addiction to selling off future revenues.

For premium subscribers:

Man United’s ‘worst team ever’

Ruben Amorim is doing a good job of setting the bar low early in his reign, ensuring that if and when he can provide some semblance of uplift that everybody can look back at this weekend when he claimed they were the “worst team in the history of Manchester United” and give him some credit.

Of course, there remains the possibility that they could be, though United were relegated in the 1970s and were they to match that this season and prove Amorim correct, then the conclusion of this campaign is surely going to be a carnival of hubris and schadenfreude.

More likely, though, is that Amorim is smashing a hole through the floor of expectations ahead of an anticipated clearout and another season without European football.

Without UEFA revenues Sir Jim’s aggressive cost-cutting will kick into another gear and it won’t be pretty.

Snap judgement

Praise for Manchester United’s principal sponsor Snapdragon, who are giving up a game to [RED] - the campaign against global health inequity.

Obviously having your logo on the front of one of the biggest club in the world’s shirts carries great value, but by the end of the season it has somewhat faded into the background.

A smart way to bring focus and positive sentiment back to your brand while doing good work for a worthy cause.

M&A Murmurs

One of the co-founders of Angel City Football Club, the most valuable franchise in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) who are backed by celebrity investors including Serena Williams, Natalie Portman and Eva Longoria, have held talks about buying into Chelsea Women.

Sky News reported last week that Monarch Collective, an investment platform focused solely on opportunities in womens’ sport, have opened negotiations about acquiring a minority interest in Chelsea, who have won the last five Women's Super League titles. Monarch Collective are run by American venture capitalists Kara Nortman and Jasmine Robinson, who in 2023 raised a $150m fund to invest in women's sports leagues and clubs. Nortman was one of three co-founders of Angel City five years ago along with Portman, Julie Uhrman and Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of social media site Reddit and the club's largest shareholder.

Since completing the $150m raise Monarch Collective have invested in two other NWSL clubs, San Diego Wave and new franchise Boston Unity who will join the competition next year, but buying into Chelsea would be their most high-profile deal yet. Sources with knowledge of the discussions have told FootBiz that Chelsea value their women's club at between $150m and $175m, figures which have raised eyebrows within the sport given that eight-times Champions League winners Lyon were valued at $54.4m two years ago when Michele Kang bought a minority stake.

Chelsea announced they were separating the club's successful women's team from the rest of their operation last May, and appointed merchant bank to seek external investment. The following month Chelsea transferred the ownership of the team to a sister company, BlueCo 22, for a sum that has yet to be made public. The transfer of ownership took place two days before the end of the Premier League's 2023/24 Profit and Sustainability Regulations accounting period, leading to widespread speculation that Chelsea were seeking a quick injection of revenue to avoid a breach.

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri values the club at around £350m, according to Sheffield-born-but-Florida-based businessman Adam Shaw who wants to buy the club but has no desire at that asking price.

Shaw, who has claimed it would be “a dream” to buy the Owls, has been getting more involved at Hillsborough in recent seasons and signed a deal to become the front-of-shirt sponsor after a previous deal fell through.

His chances of buying the club appear slim, however, with Chansiri desperate to remain in control even amid much concern over his running of the club.

One of many concerning tidbits from a five-hour fans forum held at Wednesday was that Chansiri had not spoken to manager Danny Rohl since December, with the owner labelling Rohl “very brave” for telling fans to come to to the forum and challenge ownership on the lack of incoming transfers.

With the young German coach having kept them up and now steered the club to within a win of the playoffs, this isn’t a popularity contest that Chansiri is likely to win but with Shaw having told fans that his group (and any other financially literate group, for that matter) would be priced out of the club there is unlikely to be change any time soon.

Shaw claimed that Chansiri had asked for £250m for 70% of the club, while Rohl might attract interest from elsewhere before the season is done.

Read the market, react?

Almost everyone you speak to in January isn’t looking to do many deals because of how difficult it is. Asking prices are high, often stupidly so, few players are available and the ones that are have a handful of clubs scrapping over them and are usually loans anyway.

The market conditions make it ripe for overpayment and thus, for those clubs whose floor is high enough that they aren’t at risk but cannot make the necessary jump into playoffs or continental football, it represents a great time to sell if you are willing to leave yourself slightly short in the second half of the season.

It’s surprising how few clubs are willing to take that risk though.

Not selling at the right time can cost you as much as making a bad buy, but isn’t judged in the same way.

Why not maximise profit on a player you’ll sell in the summer anyway, give a fringe player or academy kid an opportunity and see what you have in the squad?

Too sensible.