Raine Group: Inside bank behind Chelsea, Man United and Hundred deals September 17, 2025 When a team or sporting entity changes hands, those doing the buying and selling usually command the headlines and screentime; think the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, or Roman Abramovich and Todd Boehly. But these well-known individuals could not complete their often multi-billion-pound transactions on their own. Enter, then, the Raine Group, the advisory [...]
Manchester City’s new Etihad Airways deal yet to take off despite Premier League deal September 17, 2025 Manchester City’s controversial sponsorship and naming rights deal with Etihad Airways has not yet been waved through as part of the club’s Associated Party Transaction settlement with the Premier League. The new long-term deal, which was blocked by the Premier League’s independent assessors two years ago, must still go through the top-flight’s Fair Market Value [...]
More subs, fewer sackings: Five key trends in European club football September 15, 2025 Every year Uefa provides a snapshot of the trends playing out across the continent’s top football leagues in its annual European Club Talent and Competition Landscape report. At 85 pages, it’s not a quick read but it is a useful window on how the game is evolving, from attendances and player workload to manager sackings [...]
Premier League spending gap shows why rivals are plotting overseas games September 4, 2025 It’s more than 10 years since Bernard Caiazzo, then the co-president of French club Saint-Etienne, called on Uefa to take steps to curb the rampant financial power of the Premier League. Caiazzo’s warning came after the English top division had just announced its latest record-breaking media rights deal, which he said could see it become [...]
Chelsea’s transfer window and what net spend says about your club September 4, 2025 “Feel more confident about our transfer business than I have done since the fall of the Roman Empire,” wrote a Chelsea supporter friend of this column. Chelsea are of course a transfer outlier, churning a huge roster of players, deploying ultra-long contracts (and hence amortisation periods) and happy to break even in the market. How [...]
Man United shareholder, Ratcliffe’s Ineos, buys into Castore with Belstaff deal August 28, 2025 Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos has announced a “significant strategic investment” into premium sports apparel brand Castore. The petrochemicals company will invest in the British clothing brand as part of a deal which will see Castore acquire 100 per cent of Ineos-owned Belstaff on a “debt-free, cash-free” basis. Castore enjoys sporting sponsorship [...]
Manchester United upset a triumph of culture over cash, says Grimsby chief August 28, 2025 Grimsby Town’s co-owner Jason Stockwood says their shock Carabao Cup defeat of Manchester United was a triumph of “great culture” over “buying success”. The League Two side stunned their Premier League opponents in a penalty shoot-out, having earlier taken a two-goal lead before being pegged back to 2-2 after 90 minutes. Grimsby’s squad has an [...]
Who owns each Premier League club as US shareholdings boom? August 17, 2025 British firms or individuals are the biggest shareholders in just five Premier League clubs as US ownership booms ahead of the new season. Tony Bloom’s 96 per cent shareholding in Brighton and Hove Albion is the largest British stake in a Premier League club while Matthew Benham’s significant holding in Brentford is the only other [...]
Everton top Premier League table for fan engagement August 12, 2025 Everton are the best Premier League club for fan engagement, research shared with Morning Wire reveals. The Fan Engagement Index 2024-25 has ranked The Toffees 10th in the country, making them the highest scoring club from English football’s top league. The Fan Engagement Index has been published by Think Fan Engagement (TFE) every year since [...]
Man Utd fans compare Ratcliffe to Savile amid £74m Sesko pursuit August 5, 2025 Manchester United fans are planning a protest against Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s co-ownership that invokes Jimmy Savile, despite the club launching a £74m bid for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko. Supporters’ group The 1958 intends to march to Old Trafford with banners declaring ‘Jim Can’t Fix This’, a reference to the disgraced TV presenter, ahead of [...]