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83-814: Renacimiento Fútbol Club was an Equatoguinean football club based in the city of Malabo . It was the continuation of Cafe Bank Sportif . From 2004 to 2007, the club won 4 national titles. It was disestablished between 2009 and 2011, returned for the 2012 season in Segunga División and was later dissolved definitely. This article about an Equatoguinean football club is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Football club (association football) The sport of association football allows teams that partake in some sort of club activity to participate in tournaments such as leagues and other competitions. Teams must register their players as well as staff and other personnel to be eligible to represent

166-484: A (professional) football club is incorporation . A football club is an entity which is formed and governed by a committee and has members which may consist of supporters in addition to players. A consequence of the FIFA rules and regulations for association football clubs is that players are not allowed to be owned by any legal entity other than the clubs themselves. This means that the involvement of external investors in

249-644: A business, city or district. Clubs often are the sole event organisers of their home games. Stadium naming rights are sometimes procured by sponsors to generate additional sources of revenue for the football club. Normally this requires the club (or its owners) to have sole ownership of the stadium of which naming rights are sold. An association football club exists as a business entity. The club signs commercial contract with players as well as non-playing personnel. As any business entity it has its own secretary or secretarial department as well as financial, legal, accounting and other departments. The club also often has

332-476: A club is and is not allowed to do with their spending and capital holdings. The capital structure of a football club most closely resembles that of a nonprofit corporation , although it may still be profitable per se to its investors. A practical example is the fact that clubs may deliberately price matchday tickets below market value , instead favouring a higher stadium attendance or membership priority access over total matchday revenues. Another notable example

415-493: A club's outgoings in transfers, employee benefits (including wages), amortisation of transfers, finance costs and dividends will be counted over income from gate receipts, TV revenue, advertising, merchandising, disposal of tangible fixed assets, finance, sales of players and prize money. Any money spent on infrastructure, training facilities or youth development will not be included. The legislation currently allows for eight separate punishments to be taken against clubs transgressing

498-440: A combination of their own youth academies, as well as external sources of talent (pools) through affiliated clubs as well as the arrangement of youth tournaments. An association football club normally has a designated stadium as their home ground, where the club plays its home games, which normally make up about half of fixtures for a given season. The home ground can either be owned by the club itself or by some other entity such as

581-580: A debt of €118.8 million (£83 million). Having won the UEFA Champions League in 1997 and a number of Bundesliga titles, Dortmund had gambled to maintain their success with an expensive group of largely foreign players but failed, narrowly escaping liquidation in 2006. In subsequent years, the club went through extensive restructuring to return to financial health, largely with young home-grown players. In 2004, Hertha BSC reported debts of £24.7 million and were able to continue in

664-463: A department or someone who popularizes it or interacts with public on behalf of the club (public affair). The club may also contain own agronomist or whole agricultural department. An association football club often times provides some medical support in forms of first or urgent medical aid and physical rehabilitation or recovery plans for its players. UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations The UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations ( FFP ) are

747-480: A few Italian clubs made a net profit, which included Udinese , Catania , Napoli (€4,197,829 on 30 June 2011) and Lazio (€9,982,408 on the group account on 30 June 2011 ). Some of the Italian clubs had been losing money for a number of years; for example Inter Milan have accumulated losses of around €1.3 billion over the last 16 years, while on 20 May 2005, Lazio agreed a 23-year repayment plan to pay back

830-458: A firm collapsing is not particularly significant since other companies will fill the gap in the market. LBOs have sometimes been defended by those using them as mechanisms to bring greater efficiency and financial discipline to target companies, although there are also examples where they have actually added to an existing problem of debt. To football fans who find themselves paying significantly higher ticket prices (around 50% at Manchester United in

913-512: A large profit. Since 2004, Porto has covered its large operating losses with a €190 million net profit in player sales. The three main Dutch clubs, Ajax , PSV and Feyenoord , have each been crowned European champions at least once. In recent years, however, their dominance has been challenged by the emergence of other clubs such as FC Twente , meaning they can no longer rely on annual infusions of Champions League cash. As in other countries,

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996-547: A limit if it is covered by a direct contribution from the club's owner. One major criticism of FFP is the possibility of further entrenching the positions of the largest clubs, which generate the most revenue and profits, and can consequently spend more money on transfers and player wages. Qualification and participation in the Champions League is a lucrative endeavor, paying out up to £60 million in prize money and television rights per season to clubs that reach

1079-499: A military coup, Shinawatra was accused of human rights abuses, charged with three counts of corruption and had his financial assets in Thailand frozen, but eventually made a significant profit when selling the club to Sheik Mansour in 2008. A number of clubs across Europe were historically in a position to spend substantially more than they earned as a result of the benevolence of their owners who made substantial financial gifts to

1162-421: A modest profit in five of the previous six seasons, net indebtedness of SPL clubs had grown over the previous year to £109m, with half of clubs reporting a worsening position and only two clubs debt free. Despite providing the first British team (Celtic in 1967) to become European champions, since the advent of pay-per-view TV Scottish football had failed to keep up with its English counterpart; in stark contrast to

1245-506: A more responsible business and ultimately a more sustainable one." Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill , also a member of the ECA board, said that his club would meet the new rules, despite their reported debts of £716.5 million. He said, "We have seen what the proposals are and we would meet the financial break even rules. We as Manchester United have always been run professionally and will continue to be run professionally." Only

1328-447: A national level within each national member association. The majority of association football clubs take part in a league system . These league systems are governed on a continental level by the six regional FIFA confederations. Football clubs exist all over the world on amateur, semi-professional or professional levels of the game. They can be owned by members as well as business entities. Football clubs have been in practice since

1411-432: A number of Scottish fans did not renew season tickets, leading to a 10% fall in attendance over one year. The entire turnover of SPL champions Rangers for the 2008–09 season dropped 38% to £39.7 million. As with other leagues, participation in the Champions League continued to make the crucial difference between profit and loss for the two " Old Firm " clubs. However, because of mediocre performances in recent years,

1494-685: A number of years, the clubs in the two other big European leagues, the French Ligue 1 and the German Bundesliga , had been subject to regulations not unlike the FFP rules. In France, The Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG) is responsible for administering, monitoring and overseeing the accounts of all professional clubs to ensure that owners are being financially prudent. Sanctions for non-compliance include transfer embargoes, reduced playing squads, demotion or even expulsion from

1577-660: A player's image rights. Following the problems caused by the sale of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to West Ham United in 2006, third party ownership was banned in the Premiership, although it is widely used in South America and Europe and is permissible under FFP. Following the introduction of FFP, the Premiership unsuccessfully lobbied UEFA to review the situation to avoid English clubs being disadvantaged, and in October 2011, sports lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont told

1660-422: A presence within a certain geographic area where football is a natural part of the culture. Football clubs may also expand their area of reach further from the local region of origin to whom they belong. Many association football clubs will have either one or more youth systems connected to the organization, either as part of the club, or as an affiliate to the club. The more prestigious football clubs often have

1743-400: A re-capitalization. Meanwhile, Everton , whose former manager David Moyes had long received praise for his continued ability to keep the club among the top Premier League sides despite an extremely tight transfer budget, had a negative equity (in group accounts) of £29.7 million on 31 May 2010, making a net loss of £3.1 million in consolidated accounts. Worst of all, though, were

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1826-458: A set of regulations established to prevent professional football clubs spending more than they earn in the pursuit of success, and in doing so not getting into financial problems which might threaten their long-term survival. Some have argued that they were instituted to prevent financial "doping" from outside sources injecting money into smaller clubs. They were agreed to in September 2009 by

1909-432: A sixth of Real Madrid's revenue for example, Portuguese club Porto regularly reach the last 16 of the Champions League and have been European champions twice – in 1986–87 and 2003–04 . Porto make use of third-party deals and an extremely effective scouting network, particularly in South America, to purchase promising young players to develop and play in the first team in the near future before eventually selling them for

1992-464: A system of fines and points deductions for clubs who flout rules and those who go into the red can only buy a player after selling one for at least the same amount. In addition, no entity is allowed to own 50% or more of any Bundesliga club. Despite the strong economic governance in the German league, there were still some instances of clubs running into difficulties. In 2004, Borussia Dortmund reported

2075-401: A €140 million overdue tax bill. The club recovered, however, showing a net asset/equity of €10,500,666 in its consolidated accounts on 30 June 2011, while net financial debt of the group ( Italian : Posizione finanziaria netta ) was €9.01 million. Its city rival A.S. Roma SpA, from its ultimate holding company Italpetroli, intermediate holding company "Roma 2000" (the holding company or

2158-427: Is not a "normal business" but rather an intrinsic part of their lives and often of great social and cultural importance to the local community. LBOs are also believed to have played at least a part role in takeovers at Portsmouth, Hull City , Chesterfield , Notts County and Derby County , and perhaps unsurprisingly, the main supporters groups of Manchester United and Liverpool, MUST and Spirit of Shankly called on

2241-814: Is owed by only three of the biggest leagues: the English Premier League , the Italian Serie A and the Spanish Primera División , commonly known as La Liga. A report by Deloitte indicated that total debt among the 20 Premier League clubs at the end of the 2008/09 season was £ 3.3 billion. At the time of the introduction of FFP, several Premier League clubs were known to be spending considerably above their income. For example, between 2005 and 2010, West Ham United recorded an aggregate net loss of £90.2 million, with equity of £13 million on 31 May 2010 following

2324-416: Is the practice of third-party ownership. Under this model, companies or wealthy individuals buy a percentage of a young player in the hope that if his value increases in the future they will make a profit based on their percentage. The advantage for clubs is that they can make big savings from not having to pay the full transfer value of a player and can also make other financial gains, that is, from selling on

2407-442: Is the prevalence of community initiatives by professional football clubs. The English Premier League is wholly owned by its 20 participating member clubs. Professional football clubs also act as market entities offering a highly sought after product to an entertainment sector audience. It therefor acts as a market intermediator between its product (the football players) and its market (the supporters). In doing so, it fills

2490-549: The Global Recession greatly diminished sponsorship and TV income, turning an Eredivisie profit of €64 million in 2007–08 into a €90 million loss for 2009–10 . PSV recorded a €17.5 million loss as their annual revenue dropped back 40% from €85 million to €50 million, while major rival Ajax – the only Dutch club listed on the stock exchange – lost €22.8 million. After enjoying 11 consecutive years of Champions League qualification and reaching

2573-539: The " Nou Mestalla " was to be funded by the sale of the existing ground; however, two years into the project, work ground to a halt when the club could not find a buyer following the Spanish property crash. Despite an impressive display on the field, Valencia was forced to temporarily halt work on a new stadium and delay wages when its bank denied it more credit, forcing management to sell some of their top players, including David Silva , David Villa , and Juan Mata . In

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2656-543: The " sugar daddies ", UEFA President Michel Platini said, "If you buy a house, you have a debt but that doesn't mean someone is going to stop you from working. If you depend only on a rich benefactor however, then the financial model is too volatile." Despite broad approval across Europe, in early 2010, the European Club Association succeeded in delaying the full introduction of the FFP regulations to give clubs more time to adjust. The original timescale

2739-530: The 19th century, with the existence of clubs dating back to the 1850s . During the early 1860s, there were increasing attempts in England to unify and reconcile the various football games that were played in the public schools as well in the industrial north under the Sheffield Rules. Working class, industrial cities all over the U.K. began forming their own Football Associations in the late 1800s, from

2822-507: The 2009–10 squad were included in the 2008–09 financial year. Madrid signing one additional big name, Xabi Alonso from Liverpool in August 2009, made the net financial debt only drop from €326.7 million to €244.6 million on 30 June 2010, still higher than the previous eight seasons. The net asset/equity, however, increased from €195.9 million to €219.7 million. Barcelona also continued to spend heavily initially, although

2905-445: The 2010–12 House of Commons report on Football Governance: Club owners are generally over optimistic about their management abilities and vision for a club. With ample academic evidence that there is a clear correlation between squad wages and points won – something which is obvious to owners – there is a natural tendency to borrow in the pursuit of success, although not all teams can be successful. There are many examples of clubs where

2988-623: The British government to legislate against future LBOs of football clubs, calling for an outright ban or a limit on the amount which can be borrowed against acquisition – perhaps along the German model where no individual can own more than 49% of the club. There have also been calls to restrict levels of dividend withdrawal and improvements in "proper person tests"’ introduced after the earlier takeover of Manchester City by Thaksin Shinawatra . After being ousted as prime minister of Thailand in

3071-565: The Bundesliga only after proving they had long-term credit with their bank. Bayern Munich made a net profit of just €2.5 million in the 2008–09 season (group accounts), while Schalke 04 incurred a net loss of €30.4 million in the 2009 financial year. Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA made a net loss of just €2.9 million in 2008–09 . Other European leagues include the Portuguese Primeira Liga ,

3154-705: The Dutch Eredivisie and the Scottish Premier League . Mainly as a result of their lower populations and smaller economies, these and other leagues such as the Belgian and Scandinavian leagues generate less revenue than those of the bigger nations, and there are currently no clubs in the Deloitte Top 20 from outside the big five leagues , although these are home to a number of extremely well run and successful clubs. Despite earning only

3237-486: The European competitions. Other penalties included fines, the withholding of prize money, and player transfer bans. On announcing the new legislation, former UEFA President Michel Platini said, Fifty per cent of clubs are losing money and this is an increasing trend. We needed to stop this downward spiral. They have spent more than they have earned in the past and haven't paid their debts. We don't want to kill or hurt

3320-528: The Financial Control Panel of football's governing body in Europe (Union of European Football Associations – UEFA ). The regulations provide for sanctions to be taken against clubs who exceed spending, over several seasons, within a set budgetary framework. Implementation of the regulations took place at the outset of the 2011–12 football season. The severest penalty is disqualification from

3403-560: The German Bundesliga told the European Commission : "... we learn by experience all over the world [that] most club executives tend to operate riskily, tend to overestimate their chances in the Championship. This may result in disproportionate spending relative to the income some clubs generate... club executives have somehow to be protected from themselves." The vast majority of the overall European football debt

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3486-457: The House of Commons as " asset strippers draining the club with their greed". Eventually Liverpool was bought by a new American consortium, but because leveraged buyouts are permitted under normal stock market rules they will not be addressed by the FFP rules. The leveraged buyout model is common for normal business ventures where – apart from the actual employees – the overall national impact of

3569-637: The Premier League's vast TV earnings, following the collapse of the Irish satellite broadcaster Setanta in June 2009 the joint Sky- ESPN TV rights to be shared among all SPL clubs now amounted to only £13 million per year, a figure little changed from the £12 million it had received under the Sky deal as long ago as 1998. Following the global downturn, job insecurity and rising unemployment meant that

3652-452: The SPL champions no longer qualify automatically for the Champions League group stages and are now largely confined to the much less lucrative Europa League. There was also concern at the heavy debt being loaded onto some clubs as a result of new owners borrowing heavily to acquire the club and then using future earnings to pay the interest, a practice known as a leveraged buyout (LBO). One of

3735-623: The Scottish Football Association in 1873 to Lancashire FA in 1878. Teams still in existence began popping up, some with the help of the Church; for example, Aston Villa was founded in 1874, Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1877, Bolton Wanderers in 1874 and Everton in 1878. Due to the scope and popularity of the sport, professional football clubs carry a significant commercial existence, with fans expecting personal service and interactivity, and external stakeholders viewing

3818-518: The acquirement of players to the club must only involve the eventual transfer of the rights to the contract of the player in question, and not the contract itself. There are several professional football clubs that are publicly traded. Normally, football clubs are not run with the intent of profit maximization , as its sports outcomes are considered more important than its financial outcomes by its ownership. In addition, financial regulations as, for example, UEFA Financial Fair Play may also limit what

3901-564: The biggest spenders in the world for the 2011–12 season . In the English Premier League, Chelsea 's massive transfer spending since 2003 has been paid for by their owner, the Russian oil and gas billionaire Roman Abramovich , while Manchester City is owned by one of the world's richest men, UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour. Since 2008, the owner has spent in excess of £1 billion on players and infrastructure at

3984-470: The club in any activity as it regards to association football competitions. In association football terminology, competitions are referred to as "club competitions". Supporters may also acquire membership rights within their club. Even sponsors may be accounted for as members of the club of affiliation. This is a reason as to why the sport came to be called association football. The exact requirements for club licensing are regulated by FIFA and implemented on

4067-488: The club took on a €10 million loan from its long-standing benefactor, the electronic giant Phillips , and in April 2012 was forced to sell its ground and training complex to the local council for €49 million, leasing it back for €2.3 million per year. A leading councillor said that the move was necessary because of "the idiocy of big money and the game played between millionaires and football agents". Recognising

4150-415: The club with an outstanding bill for income tax which in turn led to a winding-up petition from HM Revenue & Customs . There then followed administration to avoid the club being liquidated, a nine-point deduction from the Premier League, and finally relegation into the lower division. A similar train of events had affected another English club, Leeds United , some years previously. The problem of debt

4233-520: The club, either by paying off existing debt, providing direct injections of cash, issuing extra shares or giving loans which are later written off. Such a practice adversely affects the market by creating wage and transfer inflation as well as encouraging other clubs to spend more than they can afford in an effort to remain competitive. For example, Internazionale's enormous losses since the mid-1990s have been largely underwritten by their president, energy company owner Massimo Moratti . Its archrival, Milan,

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4316-405: The club, though this has drawn considerable criticism from other clubs and football figures. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger , a major proponent of the FFP legislation, has referred to transparent owner equity investment as " financial doping " and has accused Chelsea, Manchester City, and Real Madrid for being "financially doped". Referring to the intention to reduce the plutocratic influence of

4399-427: The clubs; on the contrary, we want to help them in the market. The teams who play in our tournaments have unanimously agreed to our principles…living within your means is the basis of accounting but it hasn't been the basis of football for years now. The owners are asking for rules because they can't implement them themselves – many of them have had it with shovelling money into clubs and the more money you put into clubs,

4482-577: The delay, ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge , representing Bayern Munich, called the new rules "a magnificent achievement" and pointed out that 93 clubs from 53 countries who attended the ECA's General Assembly in Manchester agreed with the proposals. He stated, "After only two years of existence, the European Club Association has managed, together with UEFA, to set measures that will shape the future of European club football into

4565-438: The directors (true fans) have "chased the dream" – gambling short-term investment (or borrowing) in the hope of long-term success. The pressure on the directors of a club to invest, to sign a star player…is often immense from ordinary supporters. Even among Europe's elite sides, continued excessive spending has often been justified by club executives as being "necessary to keep the club competitive". As Christian Müller , CFO of

4648-530: The ethical composition of football. Some clubs are easily able to attract reputable sponsorship due to the willingness of companies to be associated with a successful brand. For example, many top clubs raise money from selling sponsorship for their playing as well as their away and training kit, and other titles like the "official logistics partner" (such as Serveto for Barcelona) or "official marine engine partner" (such as Yanmar for Manchester United). Several top clubs have similar deals. In addition, there remains

4731-416: The field of professional football as a source of significant business advantages. For this reason, expensive player transfers have become an expectable part of the sport. Awards are also handed out to managers or coaches on a yearly basis for excellent performances. The designs, logos and names of professional football clubs are often licensed trademarks. The difference between a football team and

4814-417: The final. A club only has to play 13 matches from the group stages to reach the final. In comparison, finishing bottom of the Premier League is now worth £175 million, but is won over 38 matches. The financial gulf between successful clubs in the top-tier of European leagues has had an impact domestically, most notably in the Premier League, where for approximately a dozen years (from 1996 to 2008) there

4897-506: The finances of Portsmouth , which had a shortfall of £59,458,603 to the creditor in February 2010 (after deducting the book value of the asset). Having invested heavily on players over previous seasons, (the previous year's net loss was covered by French-Israeli businessman Alexandre Gaydamak ), Portsmouth were runners-up of the 2009–10 FA Cup in 2010, but as the season wore on the financial situation deteriorated, leaving players unpaid and

4980-656: The first five years of the Glazer takeover ), LBOs are anathema, perhaps representing the complete opposite of the wealthy benefactor model, taking money out of the club and providing few or no positive changes since no new players are purchased and no facilities are built or improved. As with debt taken on in an attempt to improve the team, unexpected failure (such as not qualifying for the Champions League) can cause significant financial problems for clubs loaded with LBO debt. For these "emotional stakeholders", their club

5063-486: The formal handover on 30 June 2011, the club had a net financial debt of €53.831 million, with a negative equity of €43.984 million. Despite the most recent report showing 8% growth in La Liga revenues, the highest of any European league, the overwhelming majority of the extra money went to the two dominant clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona , primarily due to their ability to negotiate separate TV deals. During

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5146-452: The harder it is to sell at a profit. Platini went on to say that the measures were supported by the majority of football club owners, and that an independent panel would be set up to judge whether clubs had broken the rules. Although the intentions of encouraging greater financial caution in football have been well-received, FFP has been criticised as illegal by limiting the internal market , failing to reduce football club debt and protecting

5229-518: The head of Roma larger group of companies, holding company of "ASR Real Estate S.r.l." and "Brand Management S.r.l.") to AS Roma SpA (or AS Roma [smaller] group), owed considerable money to banks, including UniCredit . On 30 June 2010, AS Roma SpA had a negative equity (total liability greater than total asset) of €13.2 million on the consolidated balance sheet, which ultimately led to the group ("Roma 2000") being sold to group of investor led by American billionaire Thomas R. DiBenedetto (25%). Before

5312-589: The holding company of the same name ( Olympique Lyonnais ), had a net profit of €15.1 million in the 2008–09 season. At the end of each season, Bundesliga rules state that clubs must apply to the German Football Federation (DFB) for a licence to participate again the following year; only when the DFB, which has access to all transfer documents and accounts, are satisfied that there is no threat of insolvency does it provide approval. The DFB have

5395-547: The issue of widely differing tax rates and social security costs to which the European leagues are subject, meaning that some clubs have to pay a player much higher gross wages in order for him to be left with the same net salary as if he belonged to a club in another country. In addition, the UEFA guidance states that each club's accounts must be audited under the national accountancy conditions applicable in their particular country, which may vary. One area of concern for English clubs

5478-502: The league. Despite lower incomes, French clubs do not carry the enormous debt of the English, Italian and Spanish leagues. A number of French clubs have produced small profits over a number of years, concentrating on developing young players in modern academies, who then generate profits when sold. For example, in the four years up to 2009, player trading by Lille , one of the leading clubs, exceeded €164 million in profit. OL Group,

5561-470: The level had been slightly reduced in the years immediately following the regulations. On 30 June 2009, Barcelona's net asset/equity was €20.844 million. Total debt in La Liga was estimated at £2.5 billion, leaving many of the owners, as so often in the past, having to put more of their own money into clubs. In the summer of 2010, Villarreal failed to pay its players because the ceramics industry from which their owner Fernando Roig made his money

5644-405: The lower Spanish leagues, at least six clubs, including former second-tier sides Real Sociedad , Celta de Vigo , and Levante , were in administration with more threatened as the recession worsened. In July 2008, the Spanish government revealed that the clubs had a combined debt of £507 million to the tax authorities alone, with substantial amounts owed to a number of other state bodies. For

5727-655: The prevailing reasoning amongst Football League sides seems to be that excessive levels of spending can be sustained for a few years within which time promotion must be achieved. After that, Premier League revenues can be used to pay off all the debts accrued." In the Italian Serie A, most clubs also reported a net loss over the previous season: Milan (group) €69.751 million on 31 December 2010; Genoa €16,964,706 on 31 December 2010; Fiorentina €9,604,353 on 31 December 2010; Bologna €4,166,419 on 30 June 2011; and Chievo €527,661 on 30 June 2011, among others. Only

5810-485: The richest club in France and one of the richest clubs in the world after Qatar Investment Authority became the majority shareholder of PSG by purchasing 70% of the shares in 2011 and effectively purchasing the club altogether in a deal worth €50 million, which covered an estimated €15–20 million in debt and losses of €19 million from the 2010–11 season . PSG splashed a French record €108 million and were

5893-497: The rules, based in order of severity: reprimand / warning, fines, points deduction, withholding of revenue from a UEFA competition, prohibition to register new players for UEFA competitions, restrictions on how many players a club can register for UEFA competitions, disqualification from a competition in progress and exclusion from future competitions. Clubs are permitted to spend up to €5 million more than they earn per assessment period (three years). However it can exceed that level to

5976-487: The semi-final in 2005, PSV found its regular profits turning into losses and began selling top players, including Heurelho Gomes ( Tottenham Hotspur ), Mark van Bommel (Barcelona), Park Ji-sung (Manchester United), Johann Vogel (Milan), Alex (Chelsea) and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink ( Celtic ). Able to count only on the much lower revenues of the UEFA Europa League (less than €4 million in 2010 ),

6059-441: The social and cultural importance of its clubs, Dutch authorities invested over €300 million in football between 2006 and 2011, mainly through indirect subsidies and loans to clubs such as FC Utrecht , FC Groningen , FC Twente, Vitesse and ADO Den Haag , though such aid has fallen foul of EU rules. A 2011 report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers expressed deep concern at the fragile financial state of Scottish football. Despite

6142-497: The status quo. In 2015, UEFA announced FFP would be "eased". A newspaper article alleged that this was in response to a number of lawsuits. A 2009 UEFA review showed that more than half of 655 European clubs incurred a loss over the previous year, and although a small proportion were able to sustain heavy losses year-on-year as a result of the wealth of their owners, at least 20% of clubs surveyed were believed to be in actual financial peril. The reasons for this are well summarised in

6225-544: The summer of 2009, Real Madrid paid a world record transfer fee of £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo . Being the world's richest club according to the Forbes ' List , heavy spending on two other players, Kaká and Karim Benzema , with their associated high wages, trebled Real's net financial debt from €130 million on 30 June 2008 to €326.7 million on 30 June 2009, as the signing of Raúl Albiol , Benzema, Kaká, Ronaldo, Álvaro Negredo and some minor players to

6308-532: The world's richest clubs, Manchester United , was bought in this way by the Glazer family in 2005 after which the club, previously very profitable, remains several hundred millions of pounds in debt. Since 2005, more than £300 million which might otherwise have been spent on players, improving facilities or simply kept as a contingency has been taken out of Manchester United and spent on interest, bank fees and derivative losses. (While Manchester United FC Limited

6391-617: Was a near complete dominance of the three major domestic English competitions by just four clubs (Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United). During this period, the lack of competition for lucrative Champions League football in England from outside of those four clubs was frequently criticised. Some forums have expressed concern at the potential risk that as clubs become ever desperate to raise "allowable" revenue which will positively affect their balance sheet, they will indulge in questionable U.S.-style advertising and sponsorship practices from multiple backers which may eventually compromise

6474-406: Was almost debt free, its ultimate holding company "Red Football Shareholder Limited" had a negative equity of £64.866 million in its consolidated balance sheet on 30 June 2010.) Liverpool found itself in a similar position after being purchased by Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett in February 2007. Although subjected to less leveraged debt than Manchester United, by 31 July 2010, the club

6557-408: Was also financially supported by Silvio Berlusconi (over €120 million between 2007 and 2010). The Della Valle brothers, meanwhile, also contributed €84.7 million to Fiorentina from 2006 to 2009. Juventus had re-capitalized twice in recent years, by about €104.8 million after the 2006 Italian football scandal and in 2011 by €120 million. In Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain became

6640-478: Was hit hard by the European credit crisis. At the end of the year, Deportivo de La Coruña were more than €120 million in debt, Atlético Madrid owed more than €300 million, while the total for Valencia at one point in 2009 was reported to be as high as €547 million. In 2007, during a property boom, Valencia's management decided to build a new 70,000 capacity stadium, despite doubts that it could attract enough fans to regularly fill it. Construction of

6723-687: Was lengthened, with a phased implementation over five years meaning that the full rules would apply in 2015 instead of 2012. The clubs also rejected a proposal by UEFA that the new rule should only apply to clubs with a turnover of more than €50 million, agreeing that all clubs should be treated the same. Also on the agenda was a proposal to limit squads to 25 players with unlimited under-21 players per team at national and European level, as well as plans to reduce fees paid to agents. Clubs also agreed that they will not be able to owe each other money, nor will they be allowed to compete in Europe if salaries have not been paid to players or non-playing staff. Despite

6806-510: Was not confined to the top division, with a number of clubs in the second tier of English football, the Championship seemingly gambling their futures in an effort to gain promotion into the Premier League. The 2010–2012 parliamentary report into English football noted that, "Much of the overspending [by non Premier league clubs] is as a result of the desire to get into the 'promised land' of the Premier League or indeed to simply stay there...

6889-450: Was suffering a negative equity of £5.896 million while its holding company, KOP Football Limited – the entity which carried the debt – had a negative equity of £111.88 million, leaving the club tottering on the verge of bankruptcy, and had to be put up for sale. Hicks and Gillett placed what was widely believed to be an unrealistic value on the club in the hope of making a vast profit however, for which they were severely criticised in

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