FootBiz newsletter #76: Chelsea, Reading, Arsenal's Rwanda deal under fire and are AC Milan for sale?

It’s been a while since we have mentioned it, but it’s worth repeating today that premium subscribers to the newsletter will receive a slew of extra news and analysis in their inbox.

It’s worth repeating today because I’ve just read Rob Draper’s piece for tomorrow on the history of financial fair play, how it came about, how it’s implemented now and where we go from here.

There are few bigger topics in football right now, with decisions that governing bodies make over the next year or two likely to have lasting and serious repercussions for the health of the world’s biggest football competitions.

And to understand the intent and thinking behind many of the moves in the past should help us make better decisions in the present.

Anyway, you can upgrade to premium by clicking the button below.

Otherwise, today’s newsletter is pretty newsy so let’s get into it.

Table of Contents

• Rivals bristle at Reading extension

• Tales of the Roman empire

• DAZN sub-license Club World Cup in UK

• Fans target Arsenal over Rwanda

• M&A Murmurs

• The Eagle has departed

• RedBird cashing out?

• Year 3 of Man City vs The Premier League

• New faces in at Everton

Rivals bristle at Reading extension

And so it’s another extension for Reading, with the EFL now giving them and Rob Couhig until the first week of May to complete their protracted (a word which barely covers it) transaction.

It’s starting to piss some people off.

“Obviously if [Reading] go up via the playoffs then we won’t be the only ones kicking up a stink” says a part-owner of another club in the top half of League One.

The EFL has punished Reading several times with points deductions and transfer embargoes but their promotion rivals are now a little peeved that they are getting so much leniency, a move they perceive as the EFL covering their own back for allowing Dai Yongge (and other owners) to run clubs so terribly for so long.

There has been material progress, though, with Reading confirming terms have now been agreed for the acquisition in a statement:

“Reading Football Club can confirm further progress has been made towards the sale of the club, with the transaction including the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Bearwood Park Training Facility.

“As a result, The EFL has agreed for a further extension until May 5th for the transaction to be completed. The terms of the deal have been agreed between the club's current owner Mr Dai and the buyer, whose identity must remain confidential at this stage.

“Both parties will now work to complete the necessary steps to complete the takeover.

“The buying party will be supporting the club’s immediate financial obligations until the transaction is complete, and as such, day-to-day running of the club will be unaffected.”

Tales of the Roman empire

Roman Abramovich will give his account of the government-enforced sale of Chelsea for the first time next month in a new book, Sanctioned, by British journalist Nick Purewal.

The former Press Association and London Evening Standard reporter has obtained rare and what promises to be revealing access to Abramovich, interviewing the exiled Russian oligarch for several hours on two separate occasions in Istanbul and Abu Dhabi.

Abramovich did not give a single interview from the moment he bought Chelsea from Ken Bates for just £150m in 2003 until he was forced to sell to the Clearlake Capital/Todd Boehly consortium for £2.5bn 19 years later, after being sanctioned because of his links to Vladimir Putin, so Purewal appears to have pulled off a remarkable coup. The only subjects off limits in the book are his relationship with Putin and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Sanctioned, which will be published by Biteback Publishing on 29 May, also features interviews with more than 50 people involved in the Chelsea sale from all sides of the deal.

DAZN sub-license Club World Cup in UK

The chant "Thursday night, Channel 5!" was used by fans of English clubs in the Champions League to mock less successful rivals for years, when the UK free-to-air broadcaster had Europa League rights, but it now applies to FIFA.

As revealed by The Guardian yesterday the rebranded 5 have secured a sub-licensing deal with global rights holder DAZN to broadcast the Club World Cup this summer.

5 have obtained — paid for may be a stretch in a deal thats main value to DAZN is promotional — the rights for 23 of the 63 matches including 15 group games, four last-16 ties, two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final. The remaining 40 games will be shown exclusively by DAZN, although they will also be available free-to-air via their app.

FIFA began what turned into a convoluted media sales process last year aiming to secure one blue riband global rights partner for the Club World Cup, and at one stage were confident of doing a deal with Apple TV, but with less than two months until the tournament starts in the United States DAZN are still seeking subsidiary deals to boost its visibility. 

While the partnership between DAZN and Saudi Arabia's Surj Sports Investment group has bailed FIFA out financially, with the former paying $1bn for global rights shortly before the latter conveniently invested $1bn for a 10 per cent stake in the company, viewing figures remain a concern. 

A sub-licensing deal with Warner Bros had already been agreed for the United States, and now Paramount-owned 5 have picked up the rights in the UK.

Fans target Arsenal over Rwanda

Arsenal fans have been mocking Tottenham for years by celebrating St Totteringham's Day - the point in the season at which it is mathematically impossible for them to finish above the Gunners in the Premier League - but their north London rivals are now being used by one group of fans in a battle with their own club.

As part of a campaign demanding the end of Arsenal's sleeve sponsorship deal with Visit Rwanda, Gunners For Peace has paid for "Visit Tottenham" billboard outside the Emirates Stadium. The group say they would rather Arsenal fans "Visit Tottenham" than continue to endorse a Rwandan government engaged in violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Rwanda Development Board, the tourism arm of a government led by president and Arsenal fan Paul Kagame, have been one of the club's commercial partners since 2018 in a deal that is due to continue next season. The British government suspended aid to Rwanda in February as a consequence of Kagame's financial backing for the M23 rebel group in DRC.

In addition to the Tottenham billboard, Gunners For Peace handed out armbands for fans to cover up the Visit Rwanda branding on their shirts at last night's Premier League game against Crystal Palace. "Visit Tottenham is a joke with a serious punchline," said James Turner, of Gunners For Peace. "It's hard to think of a worse sponsor than Visit Rwanda, and we are calling on the club to drop them."

M&A Murmurs

There’s a lot going on in Italy right now, with Serie A (and Serie B) dominating recent murmurs.

Second-tier Spezia are the latest club to transact, which might surprise those who remember them being bought by F32 Holdings only two months ago.

Well there is a story there, but not one we can delve into right now, and F32 have already offloaded the club to American investor Thomas Roberts.

Roberts has installed events promoter and former radio host Charlie Stillitano as the club’s president, per a report by The Athletic. An elite networker, Stillitano will be charged with untangling the promotion-chasing club’s financial situation.

Monza, rock bottom of Serie A, are very much for sale while Udinese and Brescia are on the market too.

Boavista may need a new owner after their electricity was turned off due to unpaid bills.

Owned by ‘club killer’ Gerard Lopez, the Portuguese side are struggling with debt and outstanding payments in an all too familiar story.

Lopez has previously owned three clubs:

• Lille (France) - sold club in December 2020 with €120m of debt

• Mouscron (Belgium) - Lopez bought club in 2020, club went bankrupt in 2022

• Bordeaux (France) - Lopez bought club in 2021, club lost license due to insolvency and relegated to fourth tier

Anyone wanting to save Boavista from the same fate should act soon. The players will thank you too, as they’re now having to train 30km away from town due to the lack of electricity at the training ground.

The Eagle has departed

John Textor has sacked another coach, handing the reins to a first-time head coach whose first game will be a playoff semi-final.

RWDM spent the whole season in contention for automatic promotion from the Belgian second tier, but two defeats and a draw in their last three games saw them fall into the playoffs. Indeed, they were seconds away from going up until a late goal in their game (as well as one elsewhere) dropped them to third place.

That was enough for Textor to fire Yannick Ferreira. And with such an important game coming so soon against Lokeren in the playoffs, the American looked to another club in his Eagle Football network to find a replacement.

Gueida Fofana is coach of Lyon’s B team, which plays in the French fifth tier. Some may remember Fofana as one of the most talented young midfielders of his generation, and a captain of France’s youth teams, but injuries ruined his playing career.

Now he becomes interim head coach of a club chasing promotion, and according to L’Equipe he is the 26th coach of an Eagle Football club since Textor started the group less than five years ago.

RedBird cashing out?

Speaking of avian multi-club groups, market talk is that RedBird Capital Partners would be open to cashing out of their portfolio of football clubs.

Gerry Cardinale’s group sold Zelus Analytics last year, and though they were reported by French media as having sold Toulouse to Otro last January, the club never transacted.

Super Bowl winner Logan Ryan, formerly of the New England Patriots, revealed this week that he was considering an investment in the Ligue 1 club last summer but the disastrous TV deal (covered ad nauseam in previous newsletters) put an end to his group’s interest. Local newspaper La Depeche recently reported that a Dubai-based group was now interested in buying TFC.

But the bigger prize is AC Milan, which may be available for the right price but needs someone with deep pockets. With a new stadium on the horizon, any prospective owner would need €1.5bn+ to buy the club on top of the costs of a new ground, but you’d be buying one of world football’s premier brands.

Year 3 of Man City vs The Premier League

Manchester City's legal battles with the Premier League will continue into a third year at least, with the The Lawyer reporting that the arbitration hearing into the club's second legal challenge to Associated Party Transaction Rules [APTs] has been scheduled for October.

Given previous timelines in the long-running saga the verdict is unlikely to be delivered until next year, almost three years after the club were charged by the Premier League with 130 alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules. While the verdict in that potentially seismic case has been expected for some time, with both parties expected to mount an appeal the initial judgement will not be the end of the matter.

In addition to the FFP hearing City have issued two legal challenges to the APT rules after two sponsorship deals from Abu Dhabi companies were blocked by the Premier League. 

The hearing for City's original legal challenge against APT rules took place last June, with the tribunal issuing its initial ruling in October, and the final judgement published in February. The tribunal concluded that APT rules were "void and unenforceable', although the Premier League argue that is largely irrelevent as the rules were amended by the clubs last November.

In their second claim City argue that other Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Everton and Brighton are given an unfair advantage as they benefit from shareholder loans, which have not been assessed for fair market value in the same way as sponsorship deals.

Championship paratroopers

We have talked about the influence of parachute payments on the Championship, but what about the sudden absence of them?

In the space of a few hours this week, two Championship clubs becoming accustomed to life without those parachutes both fired coaches after less than a year in charge.

Norwich City have not realistically been in the playoff chase for a while, but with that chase fully disintegrating into a bottom-half finish they dispensed with Johannes Hoff Thorup less than a year into their long-term project.

The Canaries hired the 36-year-old Dane from FC Nordsjaelland last summer, believing him a visionary young coach to fit their new era under Mark Attanasio, the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers who now also owns 85% of the Norfolk club. Norwich’s sweeping new generation saw them part with long-time sporting director Stuart Webber and replace him with Arsenal’s loan manager, Ben Knapper, as part of their younger, new direction.

As one of the most relegated clubs in Premier League history, dropping out of the top flight six times since the league broke away in 1992, they have received north of £200m in parachute payments. But the most recent batch are gone now, and they will either need to become more sustainable or rely on Attanasio’s estimated $700m net worth to fund their return to the promised land.

With Spanish striker Borja Sainz the second-top scorer in the Championship this season, they already have one obvious avenue to raising some revenue this summer.

West Bromwich Albion were relegated a year earlier than Norwich, and therefore they are in their fourth year in the Championship. It’s the longest spell outside the Premier League for the Baggies in 20 years, but will extend to five years after they lost five of their last six games while chasing the playoffs.

Former manager Tony Mowbray returned to Albion in January after Carlos Corberan took the job at Valencia but failed to recapture his old magic, and the club took the decision to part ways with Mowbray now in order to reset things this summer. Now under American ownership, West Brom are still cleaning up the financial mess from Guochuan Lai’s disastrous reign but have a number of high-value assets including England Under-21 winger Tom Fellows, who should fetch around £15m this summer.

Of the four clubs relegated at the same time as Norwich and WBA, three have already bounced back to the Premier League. The only other who hasn’t is Watford, whose parachute payments are now also drying up but who won’t make any big changes as the Pozzo family seeks a buyer for the club.

With the Pozzos having already sold Granada and looking to sell Udinese, word is that the original multi-club family is looking to get out of football entirely.

We mentioned on Tuesday that questions were persisting over Daniel Farke’s ability to keep Leeds United in the Premier League next season.

That didn’t come from nowhere, and the Daily Mail have since reported that the Leeds hierarchy are considering replacements for the German, who has gained promotion from the Championship three times (twice with Norwich, once with Leeds) but never kept a club in the top flight.

Leeds could have a record wage bill for a promoted club next season, and there is a feeling among the new executive group that there may be better options out there.

Farke wouldn’t struggle for a job in the Championship if he were to be let go.

Telegraphing a big transfer

The volume and direction of noise around Matheus Cunha signing for Manchester United seems to suggest that it will be one of the earlier confirmed transfer of the summer.

With Sir Jim admitting the club’s data infrastructure for recruitment “doesn’t really exist” and was “still in the last century” it appears that their strategy is to go for a proven Premier League commodity who should, at the very least, fit nicely into Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 as the left 10.

Their reliance on their wide network of traditional scouts will be coming to an end soon though, with Ratcliffe determined to pursue a more data-driven approach.

Mercedes F1 engineer Michael Sansoni is expected to be hired to a senior data role, per the Mail, in what could be termed an unconventional move.

New faces in at Everton

Nicky Hammond, best known for his spell as Reading’s sporting director, is joining Everton in a senior leadership role that will report to incoming CEO Angus Kinnear. 

Hammond worked with Kinnear at Leeds United as a consultant, but is understood not to be directly replacing Kevin Thelwell, the Everton sporting director who is headed north to join Rangers. 

Kinnear and Hammond are part of a new management team being installed by The Friedkin Group this summer as they look to begin a new era for a club that has spent the past few years wrestling with mismanagement and financial issues. 

Heading to a new stadium, TFG are filling out the executive level of the club though David Moyes will retain a fair amount of influence. The Scot, who was brought back to the club by the new ownership, brought a fairly large staff with him and wields more power than most Premier League head coaches.  

Everton may yet add to their executive group and have been looking for fresh ideas outside of football, though they changed course after originally targeting an outsider for the CEO role that Kinnear will soon occupy. 

Additionally, Everton yesterday announced a new investor has joined their ownership group, with the American billionaire Christopher Sarofim investing in parent company Roundhouse Capital. The 62-year-old's investment company, Fayez Sarofin & Co, manages assets worth an estimated $31bn his family are also minority shareholders in the Houston Texans NFL franchise.

Everton will remain under the day-to-day control of The Friedkin Group, who have engaged Sarofim with a view to giving them access to broader sources of funding. His personal wealth is reported to be more than $3.7bn and he has invested in Roundhouse rather than the club. No new shares will be issued at this stage.

Sarofim is the first new investor to join Everton’s ownership group, but more are expected. TFG is understood to be targeting investors with specific skillsets and contacts rather than celebrity investors to attract attention in a model favoured by other American owners at Leeds, Burnley, Birmingham and Swansea.

Dan Friedkin, TFG’s chairman and CEO, said: “Christopher Sarofim is someone I have known and respected for many years. He brings experience, sound judgment and wisdom that will be valuable as we continue to drive the club forward in all areas.”