By David Owen
May 24 – For years, cost control has proved elusive in football. While revenue growth was the envy of most other industries, the issue was manageable. But with the covid crisis coinciding with pressure on the broadcasting rights valuations that have been football’s gold-mine for so long, the reckoning has arrived.
May 24 – Three years after staving off relegation, Lille won their first French title in a decade at the weekend and prevented Paris St Germain sealing a record-equaling 10thstraight domestic crown.
May 24 – A second-half winner from Luis Suarez secured Atletico Madrid’s first La Liga title in seven years as Diego Simeone’s team finished two points above cross-town rivals Real Madrid.
May 21 – Club Brugge have retained their Belgian league crown with a 3-3 draw against Anderlecht, enough to cement their domestic dominance after a superb regular season but disappointing season finale in the playoffs.
May 20 – Embattled Spanish giants FC Barcelona have secured a €500 million loan from US bank Goldman Sachs to ensure the club’s operations can run stably in the next two years.
May 20 – Electronics and home appliance retailer Euronics Group has signed a sponsorship deal for UEFA Women’s Football in a deal starting with the 2021-22 season and which will run until 2025.
May 20 – Scottish police are investigating an apparent firebomb attack at the home of Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell.
By Paul Nicholson
May 19 – Women’s Euro 2022 organisers England have unveiled ticketing and legacy plans for the tournament that aims to sell more than 700,000 tickets and see more than 120,000 girls playing across the nine host cities.
May 19 – Bundesliga clubs have turned down interest from private equity investors expressing an interest in investing in a minority stake in the newly created entities that will sell the league’s international rights.
May 19 – The embattled French Football Federation (FFF) will downsize operations by letting 26 employees go in a bid to tackle a projected deficit for the 2020/21 season.
May 18 – A UK parliamentary petition has now topped more than 100,000 signatures calling an independent regulator in English football.
May 18 – It’s the news every Tottenham Hotspur fan has been dreading. England captain Harry Kane has reportedly asked to leave at the end of the season, marking the end of an era and sparking a scramble among Europe’s richest clubs for the prolific striker’s prized signature.
May 18 – On Sunday, FC Barcelona were crowned champions of Europe with a thumping 4-0 win against English champions Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League. It marked a new high point in perception for the women’s game in Europe, with two of the biggest men’s clubs on the continent demonstrating they take the women’s game seriously.
May 18 – Confirmation has now been made that Fritz Keller (pictured) has officially resigned with immediate effect as president of the German Football Association after sparking a wave of criticism for comparing his colleague to a notorious Nazi judge.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 17 – Looking for a feelgood story amidst all the recent narrative of footballing greed and ego?