Friday, January 24, 2014

The World’s Richest Football Clubs


Deloitte Football Money League has unveiled its annual money list. They have profiled the top earning football clubs in 2013.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are football’s biggest moneymakers for the fifth straight year, while Manchester United lost its place among the top three biggest-earning clubs for the first time. Despite dropping down the list Manchester United increased their revenue by 13%.

Despite tough economic conditions, particularly within Spain, Real and Barca's ability to generate substantial commercial revenue both domestically and internationally is central to their success.
Both Spanish clubs enjoy substantial revenue from individually negotiated broadcast deals, which is key in contributing to their overall revenue advantage over their European peers.

United, who are enduring a lackluster season under new manager David Moyes, dropped to fourth behind European champions Bayern Munich in the Football Money League compiled by accountancy firm Deloitte.

It is the first time Manchester United have dropped out of the top three but Bayern Munich had an exceptional year. Next year United will have the Chevrolet (shirt sponsorship) deal plus other new commercial deals in their figures, and the new Premier League TV deal so they will be confident they will be back in the top three in twelve months time.
Beyond 2013/14, consistent qualification for the Champions League is key in Manchester United challenging to regain top spot in the Money League, a position it last held in 2003/04.

Two Gulf-owned football clubs rank among the richest in the world, according to Deloitte’s annual money list.

Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain made the biggest growth in 2012-13, shooting up from 10th to 5th.
The club’s global profile was enhanced by David Beckham’s four-month spell in the France championship-winning team.
The largest part of PSG’s income last season came from commercial deals that yielded €255 million. Its sponsors include airline Emirates, kit supplier Nike and the Qatar Tourism Authority.

Manchester City, owned by Abu Dhabi’s Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, moved one place up the rankings to sixth place, aided by their sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways.

Two English Premier League rivals are directly below Manchester City on the list, with Chelsea in seventh, who saw a small decline in revenues to £260 million pounds and Arsenal in eighth whose turnover rose 4% to £243.6 million pounds.


The Top 20 Deloitte Football Money League 2013:  


1st: Real Madrid 

Madrid stayed top for the ninth straight year after revenue rose slightly to £444.7 million pounds ($703 million/€518.9 million). Regardless of their trophyless 2012/2013 season, they have managed to maintain their top spot. Profitable stars like Cristiano Ronaldo – recently crowned the world’s best player is also a factor for retaining their top spot.

2nd: Barcelona

Barcelona had revenues of £413.6 million pounds ($654 million/€482.6m), $49 million behind Real. They also raked in huge sums commercially thanks to profitable players like Lionel Messi.

3rd: Bayern Munich

Bayern’s income leapt 17 per cent to £369.6 million pounds ($584 million/€431.2m), as the German club won the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup.

4th: Manchester United

United were overtaken by Bayer despite revenue growing to £363.2 million pounds ($574 million/€423.8m), thanks partly to their English Premier League title-winning success.

5th: Paris Saint-Germain

Income at PSG soared by 180 per cent to £341.8 million pounds ($540 million/€398.8m) as it won the French league for the first time in 19 years.

6th: Manchester City

The blue side of Manchester saw turnover rise by 17 per cent to £271 million pounds ($449 million/€316.2m), despite the team failing to win a trophy last season. They overhauled Arsenal and Chelsea to become the second richest English Premier League club on the list.

7th: Chelsea

Chelsea's turnover dropped slightly to £260 million pounds ($431 million/€303.4m). This saw the London club drop two places on the money list to seventh place.

8th: Arsenal

Arsenal’s turnover rose to £243.6 million pounds ($404 million/€284.3m), despite failing to win a trophy yet again last season! The purchase of German player, Mesut Ozil at a cost of $70 million resulted in a small drop in revenue.

9th: Juventus

The Turin based club saw a huge rise in total revenue to £233.5 million pounds ($369 million/€272.4m). Their move to a new stadium in 2011 helped boost revenue and they made the most money from the European Champions League in 2013 despite only reaching the quarter-finals.

10th: AC Milan

AC Milan dropped two places to tenth in Deloitte’s list after a modest rise in revenue saw them record £225.8 million pounds ($357 million/€263.5m) in total.

11th: Borussia Dortmund £219.6m/€256.2m
12th: Liverpool £206.2m/€240.6m
13th: Schalke 04 £169.9m/€198.2m
14th: Tottenham Hotspur £147.4m/€172m
15th: Inter Milan £144.6m/€168.8m
16th: Galatasaray £134.6m/€157m
17th: Hamburg SV £116m/€135.4m
18th: Fenerbahçe £108.3m/€126.4m
19th: AS Roma £106.6m/€124.4m
20th: Atlético de Madrid £102.8m/€120m

Liverpool dropped out of the top ten for the first time since 1999/2000.
Liverpool are five-time European champions but haven't qualified for the continent's most lucrative club competition since 2009. The encouraging sign for Liverpool is that even without European football they saw revenue grow by 9% and might shoot up the list next season thanks to a record TV deal for English clubs.

Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe force their way into the rich list, making it the first time since 2005/06 that two clubs outside the recognized big five league in Europe -- Spain, Italy, Germany, England and France -- have appeared in the top 20.

Galatasaray are the biggest club in Turkey, and boast the biggest name manager in Roberto Mancini, the biggest name players in former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba, ex-Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder and the biggest star in Turkish football in Burak Yilmaz.

Fenerbahçe boast the likes of former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles, fellow former Anfield star Dirk Kuyt and Senegal striker Moussa Sow.
The Istanbul outfit continue to reach UEFA Champions League qualification, and although they have fallen at the play-off stage in each of the last two seasons, the foundations are there to go one better next year.

Those factors all combined make them the highest earning Turkish club on this list. As well as the two Turkish teams, Brazilian club Corinthians also made it into the top 30.


The total combined revenue for the top 20 clubs is up 8% to a staggering €5.4 Billion Euros.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

All the latest transfer gossip across Europe!


With the closure of the January 'transfer window' fast approaching, here is a round up of all of today's transfer gossip across Europe......and it's been a busy day!

Is your club involved?

Chelsea, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Napoli, Sevilla, Everton, Liverpool, AC Milan, Basel, Benfica, PSG, Newcastle, Roma, Barcelona, Arsenal, Valencia, Zenit St Petersburg, Real Mallorca, Bayern Munich, Fiorentina, Crystal Palace, Cardiff, Norwich, Leicester, Bolton, Blackburn, Ipswich, Swansea, Tottenham, Juventus, Inter Milan, Stoke, AS Monaco, Newcastle, Montpellier, Celtic, Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Sivasspor, Genoa, Bolton, Freiburg, Sunderland, Lille, Leeds, Blackburn, Sheffield Wednesday, Wolves, Doncaster, IK Start, Huddersfield, QPR, Cagliari, Fulham, Evian TG and Colchester United............are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.


Chelsea have told Manchester United they will have to pay £40m for Spain midfielder Juan Mata, 25, who is keen to leave Stamford Bridge to secure regular first-team football ahead of the summer's World Cup. Reports emerged overnight claiming that the North-West outfit were considering launching a club-record £37m bid for the Spaniard (pictured right) - All newspapers inc: Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and The Guardian

Atletico Madrid have entered the race with Manchester United to sign Chelsea's Juan Mata - Marca (Spanish national sport newspaper)

Manchester United have reportedly denied that they have made a bid for Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata - BBC Sport

Bayern Munich defender Dante has claimed that Manchester United have shown an interest in his services. Dante, 30 made forty-five appearances as Bayern won a treble of trophies last season - FOX Sports Brazil

Paris St Germain are preparing a record €80million (£66m) offer to try to sign Chelsea's Eden Hazard in June - France Football (French sports magazine)

Sevilla have reportedly rejected an offer of €12million (£9.9m) from an unnamed club for left-back Alberto Moreno. Rumours have suggested Manchester United and Napoli are interested in Moreno, who has also been linked with Real Madrid and has a release clause in his contract of €30million (£24.7m)- Diario de Sevilla (Sevilla based Spanish newspaper)


Liverpool are waiting to learn the extent of the knee injury that Lucas suffered during Saturday's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. If Lucas' injury proves to be serious then Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers wants AC Milan midfielder Nigel de Jong to replace the Brazilian - Corrierre dello Sport (Italian national sports newspaper)

Liverpool are preparing an €18m (£15m) offer for Basel's 21 year-old Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah - Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (Swiss daily newspaper)

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has confirmed that he is keen to complete a loan move for AS Monaco striker Lacina Traore this month (subject to a work permit). Traore (pictured right), an Ivory Coast international, joined Monaco earlier in this transfer window from Russian side Anzi Makhachkala - sportsmole.co.uk and transfermarketweb.com

Napoli have been linked with a string of players this month and Rafa Benitez is now interested in Barcelona's former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song. The Cameroon international's former Arsenal team-mate Thomas Vermaelan is also wanted by Napoli during the transfer window, according to reports - Sport (Spanish daily sports newspaper) and La Gazzetta dello sport (Italian sports newspaper)

Napoli have been told Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen is not for sale - Daily Mirror

Paris St Germain coach Laurent Blanc wants to sign a midfielder this month, with reporting that Newcastle's Yohan Cabaye and Roma's Miralem Pjanic are the two targets. A €25million (£20.6m) offer could be made for Cabaye. PSG have started talks with Roma about a deal for Pjanic, which could include Javier Pastore heading in the opposite direction - L'Equipe (French daily newspaper)

Newcastle United are yet to receive a bid from Paris Saint-Germain for Yohan Cabaye - despite reports of fresh interest from the oil-rich French giants - Newcastle Cronicle

Miralem Pjanic has left the door open for a move away from Roma following interest from Manchester United - Manchester Evening News

Benfica striker Rodrigo Moreno (right), who had a loan spell at Bolton earlier in his career, is attracting interest from Arsenal, Valencia and Zenit St Petersburg with Benfica rumoured to want a minimum of €25million (£20.6m) before considering a sale - O Jogo (Portuguese daily sport newspaper)

Striker Samuel Eto'o, 32, says he will sign for Real Mallorca when his short-term contract at Chelsea expires at the end of the season - Daily Express and Daily Star

Bayern Munich are interested in Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky, with the 33-year-old Czech midfielder's contract to expire soon - Bild (German tabloid newspaper)

Inter Milan vice-president Marcelo Madeiros has reiterated that the club only want to sell Ignacio Scocco after receiving a loan offer for the winger. Sunderland and Cardiff City have been strongly linked with a move for the 28-year-old - skysports.com

Crystal Palace have joined Stoke City in the race to sign £5m rated AS Monaco striker Emmanuel Riviere, 23 - The Times and Daily Mail

A number of clubs are monitoring Crystal Palace Daniel Gabbidon's contract situation at Selhurst Park. Wales international Gabbidon is out of contract at the end of the season and Palace have yet to open talks with him about a new deal. Norwich, Leicester, Bolton, Blackburn and Ipswich are all thought to keeping tabs on the Palace defender - skysports.com

Tottenham could make a move for Inter Milan midfielder Fredy Guarin, 27, (pictured right) after the Italian side rejected Manchester United's earlier offer for the Colombian - Le Figaro and L'Equipe (French daily newspapers)

Juventus and Inter Milan are going to finalise an exchange between Mirko Vucinic and Fredy Guarin, despite Inter fans strongly criticising this deal - Corriere dello sport (Italian sports newspaper)

Inter Milan have announced that they no longer wish to pursue the swap deal between Fredy Guarin and Mirko Vucinic with Juventus - sportsmole.co.uk

Celtic are willing to offer £6million for Benfica midfielder Filip Djuricic this month. Djuricic only joined Benfica last summer from Heerenveen, but could be allowed to leave for the right price - A Bola (Portuguese newspaper)

Newcastle have reached an agreement to sign Montpellier midfielder Remy Cabella, 23, but the French club say the £12m rated 23 year-old will not join the Magpies until the summer - Metro

Sunderland have completed the signing of goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. He is a 27-year-old Argentinian international. He is a free agent after he was released by Almeria - skysports.com

Fulham are waiting to hear back from Swansea after making an offer for Wales left-back Neil Taylor - skysports.com

West Ham striker Modibo Maiga is in talks with Turkish club Sivasspor - skysports.com and The Times

West Ham United want Genoa striker Alberto Gilardino (pictured right) - Corriere dello sport (Italian sports newspaper)

Nottingham Forest are in talks to sign Sunderland striker Danny Graham on loan. Graham is currently on loan at Hull City, but Steve Bruce is thought to be willing to cut short his loan stay at the KC Stadium following the recent arrivals of Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic - skysports.com

Danny Graham is the man Bolton boss Dougie Freedman has identified to lift the gloom at the Reebok Stadium - The Bolton News

Fábio da Silva could move on loan to the Bundesliga club Freiburg from Manchester United until the end of the season - The Guardian

Hull City manager Steve Bruce wants to sign Ghana international midfielder Sulley Muntari, 29, from AC Milan in a £3.9m deal - The Sun and Daily Star

Hull City striker Matty Fryatt is being linked with a host of clubs. The likes of Nottingham Forest, Leeds, Blackburn, Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves are all thought to be monitoring the striker's situation closely as they weigh up moves for the forward - skysports.com

Manchester United striker Federico Macheda currently on loan at Doncaster Rovers is on the radar of Fiorentina. Macheda's contract expires in June and the Italian club are interested in the 22 year-old - TMW agency

Arsenal scouts were at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard on Friday to watch Lille left-back Pape Souare (pictured right) play against Saint-Étienne - Daily Mail

Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey has emerged as a target for Championship leaders Leicester City. Hennessey's future at Wolves has been the subject of speculation all month with Crystal Palace also interested in his services - skysports.com

Huddersfield have signed midfielder Sondre Tronstad after agreeing a compensation fee with IK Start. The 18-year-old Norway youth international has put pen to paper on a deal until June 2016 and the Terriers have the option of an extra year.

Queens Park Rangers chairman Tony Fernandes has confirmed that Julio Cesar is likely to leave the club before the transfer window closes. Cagliari have shown an interest in signing the goalkeeper and the Brazil international has confirmed he would be open to joining the Serie A club - sportsmole.co.uk and skysports.com

Fulham midfielder Derek Boateng could join Evian TG on loan - L'Equipe (French daily newspaper) Watford are also reportedly interested in the Ghana international - skysports.com

Colchester United have signed 22 year-old Chelsea goalkeeper Sam Walker on a on an 18-month contract - sportsmole.co.uk

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Biggest January Transfer Signings In Football History



The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer window" is the unofficial term commonly used by the media for the concept of "registration period" as described in the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of a Player.

The January transfer window in England commences at midnight on the 31st December and ends on the 31st January if a working day, and again, if not, on the first working day thereafter.


Here are the biggest January transfer signing in world football history:  


Luis Suárez - Ajax to Liverpool 

In 2011 Liverpool were looking for a striker who could partner Fernando Torres up front and their search ended at Ajax, when Liverpool signed Luis Suarez for £22.8m from the Dutch outfit. However in an ironic twist of events Torres ended up leaving 'The Reds' on January deadline day, to join Chelsea. It would be easy to argue now that Liverpool in fact acquired the better player since signing the Uruguayan hitman, as the Spaniard's career has stuttered since his big money move to Stamford Bridge. Suarez is now considered to be one of the top strikers in the world and has scored 22 goals in 16 Premier League games so far this season.


Klaas Jan Huntelaar - Ajax to Real Madrid

Klaas Jan Huntelaar, another Ajax man was signed by Real Madrid in 2009. The Spanish giants paid £24m to acquire Huntelaar's services. The Dutchman is one of the most prolific strikers in the world but his Real Madrid career got off to the worst possible start when a misunderstanding over UEFA's registration rules meant he could not be named in the club's Champions League squad. This and following Real's decision to look for a new crop of 'galacticos' he was forced out of the club after just seven months, despite scoring eight goals in 13 starts. He joined AC Milan for £13m in August 2009.


Willian Borges Da Silva - Shakhtar Donetsk to FC Anzhi Makhachkala

Russian Premier League club FC Anzhi Makhachkala surprised many with their money when they started splashing the cash for players. Willian was signed by Anzhi for £25m from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2013. However following a restructuring decision by Russian owner Suleyman Kerimov, Anzhi chose to transfer list their whole squad in August 2013, including new signing Willian, and he was sold to Chelsea that same month for £30million.


David Luiz - Benfica to Chelsea 

Benfica's 2011 squad was full of talented players and one of those players was David Luiz, the unpredictable Brazilian ball playing defender/defensive midfielder. Chelsea signed David Luiz on 30th January 2011 for £26.5m, where he became an instant fan favourite. The 26 year-old is currently being linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge, with interest from Barcelona, Bayern Munich and also reports of a possible return to Benfica all on the cards.


Ediz Džeko - VfL Wolfsburg to Manchester City

Edin Džeko is a 'traditional' number 9, who was
signed by Manchester City from Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg for £32.5m on 3rd January 2011. In their title winning season of 2011–12 season Džeko finished as the second highest Manchester City goal scorer behind Agüero scoring 19 goals in all competitions, 14 of those goals in the Premier League. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international hasn't been a regular starter for Manchester City for a couple of seasons now, due in part to the quality of the strikers they have signed in the last few years. Despite this Džeko's record in front of goal is very impressive. In August 2010 Džeko became the highest scorer in the history of VfLWolfsburg with 59 goals in 96 appearances. For Manchester City the 27 year-old has netted 53 goals in 134 appearances in all competitions, many of those as a substitute.


Andy Carroll - Newcastle to Liverpool

Andy Carroll was enjoying the season of his life at Newcastle when Liverpool came knocking, after selling Torres on the last day of transfer window. Liverpool were short of options and paid a huge fee of £35m on 31st January 2011 for the striker,(the transfer made Carroll the most expensive British born footballer of all-time) and it proved to be a costly error of judgement. An injury sustained in December 2010 delayed his Liverpool debut until March 2011. Carroll was weighed down by the burden of that outrageous transfer fee and the expectation that came with it. It took its toll on the Gateshead born player and he was soon to find himself frozen out by Reds' manager Brendan Rodgers. In August 2012 Liverpool agreed a £2 million season-long loan deal with West Ham. This move was made permanent in June 2013 for a fee of £15 million.


Christian Vieri - Lazio to Inter Milan

Christian Vieri, a prolific scorer who hit the spotlight after having an amazing season with Atletico Madrid in 1997-98, scoring 24 goals in 24 La Liga games, as well as 5 goals in 7 appearances in European competition. The following season the Bologna born striker moved to Lazio for a fee of £22m. Inter Milan boss Marcelo Lippi suggested to his chairman Massimo Moratti that the Italian striker would make an excellent addition to his team and be the perfect strike partner for the Brazilian superstar Ronaldo.
So after one season at Lazio, Vieri was signed by Italian giants Inter Milan for a fee reported to be £32million, a world record at the time. Inter would be Vieri's ninth club in his ninth season of being a professional footballer. He went on to score 123 goals in 190 appearances for Inter in all competitions, before leaving in July 2005. Vieri then had spells at four other clubs before retiring in 2009.


Fernando Torres - Liverpool to Chelsea  

This former Atletico Madrid striker went on to become one of the best strikers in the world at Liverpool. He became an instant favorite. However, in 2011 he left Liverpool to join Chelsea in for a record breaking fee of £50m. The news he was to leave Liverpool along with the huge transfer fee was considered 'absolutely shocking' at the time. However he has still not justified his fee and or even come anywhere near the form that he showed at Liverpool.

Monday, January 06, 2014

The Top Divers in the English Premier League


'Diving' is the most elaborate form of cheating in professional football, but it stems from a basic disrespect and lack of authority in the game.
Diving is bringing down the whole reputation of football. Trying to trick and deceive the referee is cheating and too often it goes unpunished. At present, players can be suspended and fined for violent conduct even if the referee does not see the incident at the time. This should also be the case for diving!

Here is a list (in no particular order) of current Premier League players with a reputation for diving:


Danny Welbeck - Manchester United 

The Manchester United striker might be one of English football's brightest prospects, but has a tendency to tumble to the ground under no contact. His most recent attempt to con the referee came at White Hart Lane last Wednesday, as Welbeck pretended to fall over Vlad Chiriches’ outstretched leg in an attempt to earn his team a penalty (right). Welbeck may have been let off the hook by referee Howard Webb, but it definitely won't have helped his reputation.

Andy Carroll - West Ham United

The currently injured West Ham striker has been cautioned twice for a diving offence in his Premier League career, and on both occasions they have been blatant dives. For a man of Carroll's size it's quite amusing when he tumbles over to try and claim a free kick......his dives are horrendous and he hardly ever gets away with them.

Ashley Young - Manchester United 

Ashley Young has got his fair share of critics. The England and Manchester United star has been at the ­centre of several diving storms in recent seasons after seeming to go to ground too easily. The problem got so bad that he was warned about his conduct by Sir Alex Ferguson, while ­current manager David Moyes has also done the same. The latest controversy saw Young dive to earn United a ­penalty in their Champions League clash at Real Sociedad last month. It's fair to say not everyone is convinced that he was fouled, especially after he was booked for taking a tumble (right) at Old Trafford against Crystal Palace last September.

Daniel Sturridge - Liverpool

The Liverpool and England goalscorer has been called out twice in his Premier League career so far, and has dived throughout his time in the Premier League. He occasionally dives for Liverpool and was known to do it for Chelsea.

Fernando Torres - Chelsea 

The Spaniard averages a yellow card
for simulation every 66 games. He's
picked up three yellow cards so far in the Premier League, however he gets away with a fair few.
However back in October 2012 Torres received a second yellow card for simulation that resulted in him getting sent off. It left Chelsea with just nine players on the pitch, and in many people's eyes Torres behaviour was seen to have contributed considerably that day to a 3-2 defeat to arch-rivals Manchester United. Within six minutes of his red card Van Persie shot against the post and the ball came out to Rafael before Hernández applied the final touch for a dramatic victory.

Javier Hernández - Manchester United

Hernandez, also known as Chicharito is one of the most clinical finishers in the Premier League. He has a superb strike rate of a goal every two and a bit games for the Red Devils, but also has the unwanted reputation of going to ground far too easily. As a result and has been booked a couple of times for diving.

Oscar - Chelsea 

Oscar, the Chelsea attacking midfielder is at number two. He receives a yellow card at least once every 26 games, the latest incident of the Brazilian diving was at St Mary's stadium on New Years Day where Chelsea were victorious over Southampton. Oscar was faced with a choice last Wednesday: round the Southampton goalkeeper and score a virtuoso goal or dive and try to win a penalty.
Incredibly, the Brazilian let out a shriek and launched himself into the south coast’s rainy skies (right). It was a shameful, perplexing act that was punished with a yellow card by referee Martin Atkinson.

Luis Suarez - Liverpool

Luis is a wonderful footballer, one of the very best in world. Suarez could play for anyone with the form he's in now, unbelievable with the ball and scores the most terrific goals. However, the Uruguayan is a very controversial player as he's been known to cheat before. Most recently he was blasted for simulation, although he was not booked, after the Liverpool striker appealed in vain for a penalty during the Reds' 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge on 29th December.

Adnan Januzaj - Manchester United  

The Belguim born Manchester United winger has broke onto the scene this season with some brilliant performances in the Premier League. Unfortunately the winger has already been booked five times this season (3 of those for simulation), the last being on New Years Day during their 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur. Januzaj is now behind only Gareth Bale in the all-time list of top-flight divers, despite making just 14 Premier League career appearances!