Premier League
TOTTENHAM BEAT MAN UTD, LIVERPOOL AS PREMIER LEAGUE’S MOST VALUABLE CLUB
According to a Daily Mail report, Tottenham have been named the most valuable football club in the Premier League, according to an in-depth university study.
Despite seemingly losing their way this season following the dizzying heights of last year’s Champions League final, Tottenham have somehow managed to blow away the likes of Manchester City and a resurgent Liverpool with their business model.
Top flight teams have been assessed from a multitude of angles and, despite Spurs being still yet to place silverware into a spacious trophy cabinet, the north London club are out-performing their UK rivals when it comes to monetary value.
In a new body of work compiled by University of Liverpool Management School football finance expert Kieran Maguire, Tottenham have been shown to have gained several yards on competitors with thanks to their highly regimented and generally low wage system, along with a ‘highly commercial’ stadium with continuous earning potential.
The new figures show the rise and falls of the top flight sides, when placed against a comparison model originally conducted in 2018.
Spurs, who now place first with an overall club value of £2.567billion, leap up from their third placed standing in 2018 – then deemed to be worth £1.837bn.
Pep Guardiola’s super rich City, who topped the 2018 table with a value of £2.364bn, drop into second after seeing a decrease in value to the figure of £2.2bn. This comes despite City’s historic quadruple win during the 2018-19 campaign.
Liverpool have risen in overall value thanks to their meteoric success and plentiful broadcast revenue, building upon their 2018 valuation of £1.356bn (which saw them placed sixth) to a total of £1.627bn in the most recent study (fourth).
Manchester United drop from being the second most valuable team in 2018 (at £1.935bn) despite registering financial growth, now at £2.080bn, to sit behind Spurs and City in third.
Maguire explains: ‘Spurs are top of the valuation table because in 2018-19 they delivered a Champions League final and a top four Premier League finish on a wage budget that was £100-150m lower than the rest of the “Big Six”.
‘As such they made more profits, and this was reflected in the final valuation number.
‘These factors led to a 21 per cent increase in income, to £461m for Spurs in 2018-19, against an unbelievably light 39 per cent player wage cost – the lowest ratio in the Premier League.
‘By comparison, top four rivals Leicester City see 84 per cent of their income eaten up by player wages. Tottenham also only spent a net £22m on players – only Watford spent less (£21m) – where Chelsea spent net £290m, Liverpool £223m, Man Utd £135m and Man City £87m.’
Overall, the assessment does not paint a picture of financial security for Premier League clubs, with a collective loss of £384m sustained across the 2018-19 season.
More than half of the division’s clubs (eleven) rely on broadcast income for at least 75 per cent of their revenue. Reaching the top table for promoted clubs is also no longer necessarily a path to profitability.
For example, Bournemouth’s income has increased by £126m since their League One days back in 2012-13 – but player costs have increased by £134m at the same time. Crystal Palace’s profits have also fallen every year since promotion, to reach negative £38.9m in 2018-19.
Money in football is a hot topic right now, with many teams across the country facing the real prospect of going under as the coronavirus pandemic blights the game.
Club values will take a considerable hit during this period, while there are fewer potential buyers in the market and greater uncertainty in terms of clubs’ ability to generate income.
Maguire feels football will continue to feel the fall, which will undoubtedly impact financial studies for years to come.
Smaller sides, naturally, are set to be hit hardest.
‘We have seen the share prices of clubs with shares quoted on the stock exchanges, such as Manchester United and Juventus, fall by 20-30 per cent since the start of the year,’ Maguire adds.
‘This is likely to be greater for smaller clubs who don’t have the marketing and reputational might of the well-known brands.’
Liverpool will have to wait for a few more days to be crowned Premier League champions despite a 1-0 victory at Leicester City after Arsenal kept their slender hopes just about alive with a 4-0 romp at 10-man Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to score Liverpool’s winner in the 76th minute at the King Power Stadium to restore their 13-point lead at the top with five games left.
While Liverpool can almost taste a record-equalling 20th English crown, Leicester’s defeat confirmed their relegation back to the Championship after just one season.
The Midlands club have now been relegated from England’s top flight a record 13 times.
Chelsea secured a massive win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League as they came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage with Pedro Neto scoring in stoppage time.
The win pushed Chelsea above Nottingham Forest in to fifth place, the last spot for qualification to the Champions League, although Forest play at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Chelsea have 57 points from 33 games, two behind third-placed Newcastle United and one behind Manchester City. Forest and Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on 57 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers guaranteed their safety as they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free kick wrapped up a fifth successive league win, the first time Wolves have achieved that in the top flight since 1970.
Liverpool were wasteful at Leicester with numerous chances going begging and Mohamed Salah suffering a frustrating afternoon including hitting both posts with an early shot.
Salah hit the woodwork again moments before the ball came out to Alexander-Arnold who fired a left-footed shot through the crowd to give his side the points — ripping off his shirt and celebrating wildly with the travelling fans.
“We just keep going, mentally we’re really strong,” manager Arne Slot, whose side could be crowned champions if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy playing football and it helps when you are playing for something special. Today (Alexander-Arnold) knows when it matters most he can just bring a bit more which is something all the top, top players have.”
DISTANT SECOND
If Arsenal avoid defeat by Palace, Slot’s side will seal the title if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at home next Sunday.
“We will focus on Tottenham and looking forward again to a home game and I think the stadium will be full,” Slot, who can become the first Dutch manager to win the English title, said. “It’s a nice game to look forward to.”
Liverpool have 79 points with Arsenal a distant second on 66. Arsenal may have their eyes now on a Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, but they showed against Ipswich they will not hand over the title to Liverpool.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring early on and Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-0 after a delightful flick by Mikel Merino.
Ipswich were reduced to 10 men before halftime as Leif Davis crudely raked his studs down the back of Bukayo Saka’s calf and the second half was academic.
Trossard grabbed his second in the 69th minute and Ethan Nwaneri added a late fourth to leave Ipswich stuck in 18th place on 21 points. They will be relegated if they drop points again or 17th-placed West Ham United pick up one more point from their remaining five games.
Chelsea were heading for a damaging defeat at neighbours Fulham as the hosts led with Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute goal.
Substitute Tyrique George equalised with an instinctive shot in the 83rd minute, his first Premier League goal, before winger Neto swivelled and unleashed a thunderous strike in stoppage time to send the away fans wild.
Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-final with an astonishing comeback win against French club Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday but their Premier League woes returned against Wolves.
They are in 14th place and have now lost eight Premier League home games this season, their most defeats at Old Trafford in a league campaign since 1962-63.
“Wolves scored in the only opportunity they had. we had many chances, and we didn’t score. If you don’t score goals, you are not going to win games,” manager Ruben Amorim said.
-Reuters
Egyptian outlet, Ahram, has reported that Mohamed Salah has signed a new contract with Liverpool, extending his stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season as he prepares for what could be the final chapter of a storied career with the club.
While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, British media reports indicate the 32-year-old forward has signed a two-year extension, keeping him at the club until at least 2027.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017, has become a modern-day icon at Anfield.
The Egyptian international has scored 243 goals in 394 appearances—third on the club’s all-time scorers list—and has helped the Reds secure seven major trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League titles.
“I had my best years here,” Salah told the club’s website. “Hopefully it’s going to be 10. I signed because I believe we can still win big trophies together.”
He has maintained his prolific form this season, scoring 32 goals and providing 22 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. His 27 Premier League goals currently lead the division.
During his time with Liverpool, Salah has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times, been named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and claimed two FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Now entering the latter stages of his career, Salah remains focused on adding more silverware to his collection and further cementing his legacy at Liverpool.
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Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga, who became the second-youngest Premier League player when he made his senior debut in Monday’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle United, had to wear a blank shirt because it is sponsored by an online cryptocurrency gaming platform.
Britain’s Gambling Act 2005, which underwent a review in 2020, prohibits players under 18 from wearing kits displaying gambling sponsors. Monga, an England U16 international, made his senior debut at 15 years 271 days old.
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri remains the youngest Premier League player in history, having debuted in the competition when he was 90 days younger than Monga.
Leicester, who suffered an eighth straight loss in the league without scoring a goal, are 19th in the standings, 15 points below the safety zone.
-Reuters
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