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GM football fans. It’s Friday, Feb. 27 - European clubs continue to lose €1bn despite record revenues, Cristiano Ronaldo buys a stake in a second division Spanish club, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MD28: Wolves vs. Aston Villa, Fri 27, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Wolves have won four of their last six Premier League home games against Villa, but each of their last seven league wins have been against teams in the bottom seven of the table. Leeds United vs. Manchester City, Sat 28, 17:30 GMT / 12:30 ET. Man City have won their last two away league games against Leeds – only once have they won three consecutively, doing so in their first three visits to Elland Road between 1924 and 1928. Arsenal vs. Chelsea, Sun 1, 16:30 GMT / 11:30 ET. Leaders Arsenal have won their last three home league games against Chelsea, and the Blues are winless in their last eight against the Gunners. Mikel Arteta's side will also be confident knowing they've lost just one of their last 25 league London derby matches, winning 18 in that time. See every Premier League Matchday 28 fixture here and table here.
Results…
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TOP TALKING POINTS
European Clubs’ Losses
European club football's revenue is set to surpass €30bn (£26.1bn; $35.4bn) for the first time ever, anticipating that 2025 revenues will exceed 2024's record-breaking €28.6bn. The figures, presented by governing body Uefa, are based on initial filings from more than 700 teams across the continent, although the biggest 25 clubs accounted for almost half the total.
Uefa expects clubs to have lost more than €1bn in total last year despite these record revenues. Uefa cites rising operational costs, with clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea seeing 35% and 51% increases, respectively, and player wages rising by 4.8%, compared to 1.8% the year before. Chelsea reported the biggest losses in Europe last year of €407m, while Olympique Lyonnais lost €196m and Tottenham Hotspur lost €148m.
Uefa also reported that Premier League clubs enjoyed an increase in television revenue almost equal to the rest of European club football combined between 2014 and 2024. English clubs benefited from an increase of €1.5bn over the decade, while TV revenue across clubs from the 53 other European top-division leagues increased by €1.6bn over the same period.
Ronaldo's Club Investment
Cristiano Ronaldo has purchased a 25% stake in Spanish second-division club Almeria. The 2025 sale price was not disclosed, but industry figures estimate the club’s value to be £85m.
Ronaldo's involvement comes a year after Almeria were taken over by a Saudi investment group. It’s understood that Ronaldo has a close relationship with the group’s leader Mohamed Al Khereiji, who is reported to have helped facilitate his move to Al Nassr in 2022. “It has been a long-time ambition of mine to contribute to football, beyond the pitch. UD Almeria is a Spanish club with strong foundations and clear potential for growth,” Ronaldo said in the statement.
Relegated to the second division in April 2024, Almeria are on course to gain promotion to Spain's top-flight this season. They are third in Spain's second tier, two points adrift of leaders Racing Santander after 27 games.
See other footballers who own clubs here.
FIFA Backs Mexico
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has “full confidence” in Mexico as a World Cup host despite the violence and unrest near the host city of Guadalajara this week. The Mexican army killed Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” who led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, on Sunday, sparking several days of violence. The violence led to the postponement of four high-level football matches.
“Of course, we are monitoring the situation in Mexico these days, but I want to say from the outset that we have complete confidence in Mexico, in its president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and in the authorities, and we are convinced that everything will go as smoothly as possible,” Infantino said late Tuesday in a press conference in Colombia. An expert told the BBC earlier this week that tourists face “moderate risk” and should follow the authorities guidance.
Thirteen World Cup matches are scheduled to be held in Mexico, while Guadalajara, the central hub for the Jalisco cartel, is scheduled to host four. On Monday, Sheinbaum said there is “every guarantee” that the World Cup matches in Guadalajara will be played as planned and added that there was “no risk.”
POLL
Should there be stricter money rules in European football?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> The Champions League round of 16 draw takes place on Friday (Feb 27); see how the draw will work (More)
> Brentford head coach Keith Andrews has signed a new contract with the club, running until 2032 (More)
> The newspaper that first reported on Jurgen Klopp’s role as Red Bull’s Global Head of Soccer is now reporting that neither party is happy with the relationship and the contract could be terminated soon (More); Red Bull says the reports are "nonsense" (More)
> The Old Firm derby between Rangers and Celtic takes place on Sunday (Mar 1) as both sides look to chase Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts (More)
> Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will face off in Der Klassiker on Saturday (Feb 28) as first and second in the Bundesliga table (More); see the Bundesliga table (More)
> The handling of the Manchester City case has been "damaging" for the Premier League, according to La Liga president Javier Tebas (More) | Real Madrid have identified and banned the fan who gave a Nazi salute during the Benfica match (More)
Americas
> A number of European football federations fear they will lose money sending their national teams to the World Cup this summer due to unusual costs and tax exemption inconsistencies (More)
> The 2026 SheBelieves Cup kicks off this weekend with USA, Canada, Colombia, and Argentina taking part; see the schedule, format, and rule changes (More)
> The MLS regular season continues as Chicago host Montreal in the weekend opener on Saturday (Feb 28); see every MLS fixture (More) and conference standings (More)
> In Wednesday’s Palmeiras vs. Fluminense match in the Brazilian Serie A, Palmeiras took the kick-off in both halves (More); see the Brazilian Serie A table (More)
> Mexico men’s national team beat Iceland 4-0 in an international friendly in preparation for the World Cup (More)
Rest of the World
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think small-sided leagues will ever rival 11-a-side football's popularity?
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (5%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (91%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 Y.M: “Absolutely. I now play more small-sided/futsal than 11-a-side. Many cities don't have space for full-scale fields, but a small-sided league just needs a basketball court, something that my local bar has. It's the feasibility of the league, rather than the sport itself, that will rival 11-a-side.”
🙅♂️ L.K: “Never. The US has tried many versions of this already, including indoor soccer leagues, which never took off. It reminds me of the 3-on-3 basketball league in the US. It's a novelty, but won't go anywhere commercially.”
✍️ L.J: “I'm going to hedge my bets here and say anything is possible. It's not going to happen in my lifetime, but with the increased challenges of maintaining youngsters' attention who stream and prefer reels, etc. I guess it would be foolish to rule it out.”
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GAME FACE ON
Question: Can you name the top 10 Premier League goal scorers this season?
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
Pep is always ahead of the curve. He used False 9 when no one knew what it was. He used inverted fullbacks when no one knew about it. When everyone tries to copy him, he changes again. He has influenced the game and other managers the most in history.
Answer
Erling Haaland (22). Igor Thiago (17). Antoine Semenyo (13). Joao Pedro (11). Hugo Ekitike (10). Viktor Gyokeres (10). Dominic Calvert-Lewin (10). Danny Welbeck (9). Bryan Mbeumo (9). Bruno Guimaraes (9).
