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Finance expert reveals £300m losses after West Ham United stadium agreement

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has shared that E20 Stadium LLC has already made losses of over £300million, having signed a long agreement with West Ham United.

E20 had been set up to manage the London Stadium and ensure that the former Olympic Stadium remained integrated with the local area, help with local rejuvenation and create long-term links with local sports clubs to ultimately deliver a financial return.

Part of that deal was seeing the stadium sign a long-term agreement with West Ham for the Irons to use the stadium as their home ground on a 99-year lease that began in 2016, with an initial agreement of £2.5million a year, now £3.5million to use the stadium.

Explaining the state of the contract on The Price of Football (25 September) Maguire said: “They (West Ham) pay the rent for the matches in which they participate. If you take a look at the running costs of E20 Stadium LLC, you will find that the running costs are high because E20 signed what we refer to as an onerous contract.

“Which is where you’re effectively renting out something and you’ve made such a hash of the deal and you’re locked into it for a long period of time. I was looking at the latest E20 accounts and they’ve already made losses of over £300million.

“They had a £7million floodlight upgrade, now West Ham have benefitted from that, but West Ham didn’t have to pay a penny. They’ve got an agreement with UK athletics that when there’s an athletics tournament, is that E20 Stadium are responsible for the reconfiguration of the seats. That costs an absolute fortune.”

For the Hammers, this stadium ownership model is ultimately quite a helpful deal, as they’re getting the benefits of stadium upgrades without having to be the people shelling out the money to build things like new floodlights or take down temporary athletic seating.

Now that also means that West Ham are missing out on the opportunity to rent the stadium out during the off-season and profit from that, as many clubs often do with concerts and fan events following the conclusion of the league campaign.

west ham
There have been suggestions that the Irons would be open to purchasing the stadium in the future, but currently, their high rental costs are still well below what would be required to run the stadium permanently so a deal to purchase would make little sense.

Despite the onerous contract that Maguire explained, the Hammers are the party to benefit from the “hash of the deal,” even if they don’t necessarily own their stadium.

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Premier League

‘He Can Never Play For Me Again’ – Man United’s Ruben Amorim slams Marcus Rashford

'He Can Never Play For Me Again' - Man United's Ruben Amorim slams Marcus Rashford

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said he would rather play his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital in his team than Marcus Rashford unless the out-of-favor forward starts to “give the maximum every day in training and in life.”

England international Rashford was left out of the team for the 11th successive game by Amorim during United’s 1-0 Premier League win at Fulham on Sunday.

The 27-year-old said last month that he was ready to seek a “new challenge” away from Old Trafford after being dropped for United’s 2-1 win against Manchester City at the Etihad on Dec. 15, but Rashford has so far been unable to find a new club during the January transfer window.

And despite strikers Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee scoring just one goal between them since the beginning of December, Amorim said he would not restore Rashford to the team unless he changes his attitude.

“It’s the same, it’s always the same reason,” Amorim said when asked why he continued to overlook Rashford. “The reason is the training, the way I see what footballers should do in training, in life, it’s every day, every detail.

“So if things don’t change, I will not change. It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player. And you can see it today on the bench, we miss a little bit of pace to go and change the game, move some pieces.

“But I prefer it like that. I will put Vital on before I put a player on that don’t give the maximum every day. So I will not change in that department.”

Amorim, who arrived from Portuguese champions Sporting CP in November, celebrates his 40th birthday on Monday. But after the Fulham win, he said he feels much older after his brief stint at United.

“It’s not 40 … I’m 50!” he said. “After two months at Manchester United, it’s 50. It’s a privilege to spend my 40th birthday here. That feeling of winning and three points is really important for us. You cannot see a great improvement in the team and that is a fact, but to win helps us to improve.

“We’ve had some lack of luck in some games. Today, was not the best match but we managed to win. The important thing is I have a clear idea of what I want to do. Sometimes I’m frustrated. We want to play a different style and we are going to play a different style in the future.”

 

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Serie A

How Samuel Chukwueze Became AC Milan ‘New god’

How Samuel Chukwueze Became AC Milan 'New god'

Super Eagles forward Samuel Chukwueze scored a dramatic late winner as AC Milan defeated Parma 3-2 at the San Siro, etching their name in Serie A history, according to Soccernet.ng.

Milan endured a challenging evening, falling behind twice to a resilient Parma side. However, the hosts displayed immense character to secure all three points in an enthralling encounter.

Christian Pulisic ended his nine-game Serie A goal drought by converting from the penalty spot to cancel out Parma’s opener.

But with the visitors leading 2-1 heading into the second minute of injury time, Tijjani Reijnders produced a composed close-range finish to restore parity.

Then, in the fourth minute of added time, Chukwueze was in the right place at the back post to bundle home the decisive goal, sparking wild celebrations at the San Siro.

According to Opta via Milan News, the Samuel Chukwueze-inspired victory is the first time in Serie A history that Milan won a match by scoring two goals after the 90th minute.

For Chukwueze, the moment could prove pivotal in earning a bigger role under new manager Sérgio Conceição.

The Super Eagles winger, who only recently recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in December, was making his first appearance under the Portuguese tactician.

Chukwueze’s last outing for Milan was on December 29 in a 1-1 draw with AS Roma, during Paulo Fonseca’s final game in charge before being replaced by Conceição.

Since then, Milan have defeated Juventus, Inter Milan in the Super Cup, and featured in clashes against Cagliari, Como, Juventus (again) and Girona in the Champions League — all without Chukwueze.

The Nigerian international now boasts two goals in 18 Serie A appearances this season, surpassing the single goal he managed in 24 league games last term.

Samuel Chukwueze opened his account on October 19, netting the winner in a 1-0 victory over Udinese. He also starred in the Coppa Italia, scoring twice in Milan’s 6-1 demolition of Sassuolo in December.

Milan will next face city rivals Inter on February 2, with Chukwueze hoping to build on his impactful return and help secure another memorable result.

 

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Premier League

Man Utd Fans Threaten ‘Outright Rebellion’ Over Ticket Price Rises

Manchester United fans

Manchester United fans have written to Sir Jim Ratcliffe threatening “outright rebellion” after the Ineos chief was subjected to abuse while leaving Craven Cottage on Sunday.

In an open letter, Manchester United Supporters Trust (Must) called now “the worst possible time” to make significant pricing changes and blamed part of the club’s poor form on alienated fans.

And last week United wrote to fan group The 1958 saying Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) breaches were a possibility and prices could rise again due to “not sustainable” losses.

“We do not expect fans to make up all the shortfall – but we do need to look at our ticketing strategy to ensure we are charging the right amount, and offering the right discounts, across our products for our fans,” the club said.

In a 1,011-word statement, Must outlined their case for prices remaining at their current level, broken into sections titled, “why this is the wrong time”, “the value of supportive fans”, “a better way forward” and “the business case for a bold approach”.

They argued that fan discontent poisons all elements of the club and threatened further protests.

“This discontent could lead to outright rebellion, with consequences not just for matchday revenues but also for sponsor relations and the club’s global brand,” Must wrote.

“Sponsors depend on a passionate and engaged fanbase; alienating supporters risks damaging these critical partnerships.

“Major missteps without proper understanding of the unforeseen impacts could provoke severe backlash from fans, as history has shown.”

A link was also made between poor form and poor atmosphere, saying: “Fan dissatisfaction affects the matchday atmosphere, creating performance anxiety for players, rather than the vocal support needed to inspire them.

“A passive or even hostile atmosphere at Old Trafford compounding struggling team performances could spiral into a catastrophic tailspin.”

The letter then included a host of proposals for the future. Must suggested freezing ticket prices for members and season ticket holders next season, alongside exploring share issues to raise funding and allowing fans to invest.

Must also urged the club to “resist the temptation to sell off the fruits of the youth academy for short-term fixes”, as Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo have both been linked with Chelsea.

There was also a request for closer consultation with fan groups around key decisions which affect supporters, which will “ensure decisions are informed by fan perspectives and made with the best chance of securing unity rather than rebellion.”

Ratcliffe was hounded in his car after the Fulham win, with one fan saying “£66… you are taking the piss”. Another said: “You’re worse than the Glazers”.

United are 12th in the Premier League, with last season’s eighth their lowest finish since 1990. They reportedly need to sell players in order to buy more due to PSR restrictions, although one defeat in the past six matches under Ruben Amorim suggests form might gradually be improving.

Yet Ratcliffe appears set to continue on his cost-cutting and fund-raising spree undeterred, clearly believing the club do not capitalise on their massive global fanbase enough and that enough supporters will be willing to pay higher prices to make it worthwhile.

 

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