Footnotes #10: The Saudi investment in Spain, Manchester City again, and more
Here we go with another edition of Footnotes, your newsletter for insights into the football industry.
This is the starting XI:
1?? La Liga deepens ties with Riyadh, but Tebas isn't smiling
2?? Atletico: First the Saudi shirts, now the stadium
3?? No Saudi plans for DAZN
4?? Manchester City vs Premier League
5?? Paris FC, the Arnault Family and Red Bull (with Klopp)
6?? Foley is flirting with Moreirense (and is done with Casa Pia)
7?? Dortmund's profits soar amid a season of mixed feelings
8?? One more tender for Europa League and Conference League
9?? UEFA and ECA extend partnership
1??0?? The Messi effect
1??1?? A new tool for transfers
1?? La Liga deepens ties with Riyadh, but Tebas isn't smiling
The Spanish La Liga signed a partnership with Riyadh Season, a series of sporting, entertainment and cultural events promoted by Saudi authorities to boost tourism in that region.
The three-year agreement aims to "deliver unique experiences for football fans, in line with Riyadh Season’s vision of positioning the Kingdom as a premier global entertainment destination,” according to the Spanish governing body.
In the same press release, Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, highlighted “the strategic importance of Saudi Arabia,” acknowledging the passion that Saudi fans have for the Spanish league and adding that “La Liga is committed to fostering the growth of the sports and entertainment industry in the Kingdom by supporting distinguished initiatives like Riyadh Season.”
We don't know how profitable the deal is, as the two parties have not disclosed further details.
In any case, it was not enough to make the president of La Liga smile—nor David Villa, La Liga’s ambassador, as seen in the photo below.
Tebas' relationship with Saudi Arabia's rise in sports and the growing football ties between the two countries has been complex.
When the Spanish football federation decided to move the Super Cup to Saudi Arabia in exchange for €120 million over a three-year contract, Tebas did not react well, reported The New York Times in 2020.
“The Saudi Arabian government has a policy whereby they improve the image of the government through sport, whitewashing their image, and we all have a responsibility there,” Tebas told reporters. “Money is not the only thing that matters.”
However, his stance evolved. La Liga struck a deal with Visit Saudi in August last year, and Javier Tebas stated last March that playing the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia is good for Spanish football, acknowledging the “incredible will to grow in football” shown by the Saudi authorities [Reuters].
There was no mention of sports washing then, in an interview with Arab News, nor now.
2?? Atletico: First the Saudi shirts, now the stadium
Also last week, Atlético de Madrid announced that it sold the naming rights of the Metropolitano Stadium to Riyadh Air for the next nine years, following last year's deal with the Saudi airline for the club’s front-of-shirt sponsorship. [More details on SportBusiness and Associated Press].
Saudi authorities launched Riyadh Air last year, but the company has yet to make its first flight—expected in 2025.
According to the Spanish newspaper Expansión [in Spanish], the agreement guarantees €250 million over that period—€27 million a year—and could reach €300 million with bonuses.
3?? No Saudi plans for DAZN
In another relevant topic involving Saudi’s famous sovereign wealth, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) was considering purchasing a minority stake worth around $1 billion in DAZN.
However, some days later, PIF said it has no plans to invest in the streaming group, which holds the broadcasting rights of some of Europe’s top-tier football leagues.
“PIF is not currently engaged in discussions with Dazn on this matter and has no current plans to invest in the company,” the sovereign wealth fund said, according to Bloomberg.
And I promise this was the last news concerning Saudi Arabia in this week’s newsletter.
4?? Manchester City vs Premier League
We are going, though, to talk about Abu Dhabi.
To what extent can owners grant loans to their clubs? At what price? And should sponsorship be blocked because it comes from companies linked to the owner at an “unfair value"?
The Premier League created Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules to prevent English clubs from benefiting from overpriced deals with these companies. However, these were thrown into doubt last week when an arbitration panel upheld some of Manchester City's claims over two blocked sponsorship deals (from Etihad Aviation Group and First Abu Dhabi Bank) and another related to interest-free loans from shareholders.
Manchester City, owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, claimed victory, arguing that “the Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position”.?
The Premier League disagreed, of course, saying that the tribunal "found that the rules are necessary for the league's financial controls to be effective".
Nevertheless, the English governing body recognised “a small number of discrete elements of the rules which do not, in their current form, comply with competition and public law requirements.” And promises these issues will be solved “quickly and effectively” to comply with the British competition law.?
And so the battle continued, with Manchester City sending a letter to the other clubs, which sparked even more debate. Manchester City support from other Premier League clubs to fight Associated Party Transactions rules is getting thinner, as Footbiz reports.?
This ruling is separate from the 115 charges Manchester City faces for alleged breaches of the Premier League's Financial Fair Play regulations.
You also have Ed Malyon’s analysis on Footbiz and Jan Zglinski’s on X.
And here is the tribunal’s decision.
5?? Paris FC, the Arnault Family and Red Bull (with Klopp)
The Arnault family, owners of luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tag Heuer, are joining forces with Red Bull to buy French second-division club Paris FC from Pierre Ferracci.
According to L'Equipe, the Arnault family will initially buy 55% of the club, with Red Bull retaining 15% and Pierre Ferracci, the current president and majority shareholder, retaining 30% until 2027.
Also last week, Red Bull announced that Jürgen Klopp will become its new Global Head of Soccer from next year, overseeing Leipzig (Germany), Salzburg (Austria), New York (USA) and Bragantino (Brazil).
Read more in SportBusiness, L'Equipe [in French] or Le Parisien [in French].
6?? Foley is flirting with Moreirense (and is done with Casa Pia)
Bournemouth owner Bill Foley is in talks to buy Portuguese club Moreirense.?
According to The Athletic, talks with Casa Pia, another Portuguese club in which Foley was interested, have broken down. [see Footnotes #6].
Foley has yet to make a formal offer to the club, which is 8th in the table this season and finished 6th last season.
7?? Dortmund's profits soar amid a season of mixed feelings
Borussia Dortmund made a profit of €49 million in 2023-24, almost four times more than in the previous season (€11 million).
According to Swiss Ramble, revenues increased by 22% to €520 million, a new record for Dortmund, who reached the Champions League final but finished 5th in the Bundesliga.
On the other hand, operating expenses increased by 19% to €572 million.
8?? One more tender for Europa League and Conference League
UEFA has opened a final call for bids on the remaining sponsorship packages for the Europa League and Conference League, covering the 2024-27 cycle.?
So far, seven brands have secured deals with the European governing body for both competitions: Hankook, Strauss, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Swissquote, Just Eat, Lidl, and Betano.
You can read more on Sportcal.
9?? UEFA and ECA extend partnership
The partnership between UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) has been extended by three years, now running until 2033, compared to the previous agreement signed last September.
The deal, announced during the ECA's general assembly in Greece, maintains the joint management of UEFA's club competitions [Read Sportcal for more details].
1??0?? The Messi effect
It is a new record. Driven by Messi's arrival, more than 11 million fans have watched Major League Soccer matches in stadiums this season, beating the previous record of 10.9 million—with 16 games remaining [Read ESPN for details].
Next Saturday, Messi's Inter Miami can break another record as they look to become the team with the most points in a single MLS season [ESPN].
1??1?? A new tool for transfers
Last week, FIFA launched an interactive tool to keep track of the global transfer window. It has live updates.
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