Ailbhe Rea: How Was Your Terrible Tuesday?
It's been dubbed 'Awful April' and 'Terrible Tuesday' — today is the day the UK is hit with a flood of household bill increases on everything from water, electricity and broadband bills to train fares and council tax.
Bloomberg calculates that households face nearly £600 of extra costs on average with these combined hikes — spelled out in grim detail in the piece. That sharp 26% rise in water bills, in particular, will infuriate people who are already all too aware of sewage spills, systemic mismanagement and under-investment in British water infrastructure, and now find themselves footing the bill for it.
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33 minutes ago
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Liverpool agree £116m deal to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen
Liverpool are close to securing the signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a British record transfer deal worth £116m. Liverpool saw two bids rejected by Leverkusen, who had initially put a £126m price tag on Wirtz, before accepting an initial £100m payment, plus bonuses of up to £16m. These bonuses are understood to be heavily tied to Liverpool winning major trophies with Wirtz playing a key role. Advertisement The fee surpasses the previous British record set by Moisés Caicedo's £115 million move to Chelsea and smashes Liverpool's own record transfer of £85 million for Darwin Núñez. It also eclipses the £75 million the club paid for Virgil van Dijk in 2018. Despite serious interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City, Wirtz opted to join the Merseyside club after being convinced by Arne Slot's vision for the future of the team. The 22-year-old, widely regarded as one of Europe's top young talents, is believed to be excited by the prospect of being a central figure in Slot's new era at Anfield. The Bundesliga Players' Player of the Season for 2024/25, Wirtz made his debut for Leverkusen at the age of 17, and has scored 57 goals in 197 games for the club. He helped them win the Bundesliga for the first time in 2024 and has scored seven goals in 31 appearances for Germany since making his national debut in 2021. Advertisement According to Paul Joyce, Liverpool's sporting director Richard Hughes led the club's negotiations with Leverkusen's Simon Rolfes, with talks intensifying over the past few weeks. David Ornstein reports the German international has signed a five-year contract running until June 2030, and is expected to undergo a medical on Merseyside next week once the transfer window officially opens. This move signals a bold new era at Anfield under Arne Slot. The Dutchman has wasted no time in stamping his authority on the squad. Wirtz will become Liverpool's second signing of the summer following the arrival of former Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong. Both players chose Liverpool not just for the club's stature, but for the ambitious project being built under Slot's leadership. Wirtz's arrival is not just a statement of intent, it's potentially a foundation for the next great Liverpool side.
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33 minutes ago
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Liverpool break British transfer record to sign £116m Florian Wirtz – and here is why
Liverpool have agreed a £116 million fee with Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz, in a deal that could become a British transfer record. After weeks of negotiations, the Premier League champions have secured the Germany international's services, with the 22-year-old becoming the most expensive Liverpool player ever. He will sign pending a medical. Advertisement Liverpool will pay an initial £100 million with a further £16 million in add-ons, based on performance triggers. Although the initial outlay does not break the British record Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo two years ago, it has the potential to eclipse it should Wirtz's Anfield career prove successful. Liverpool hope that proves to be the case. Wirtz's arrival represents a major coup as Bayern Munich and Manchester City were forced to concede defeat in the race for his signature after he indicated his preference to move to Anfield. City withdrew after citing the financial commitment required to complete the deal, before the Bundesliga champions were also informed of Wirtz's intentions. Wirtz will be a key player for Germany at next summer's World Cup - PA/Bradley Collyer Liverpool's move will be seen as a major statement in their bid to defend their title, Wirtz becoming the second recruit as the promise of a 'big' summer is realised. Advertisement Liverpool have already bought Wirtz's former Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong for £30 million and are expected to sign left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth. The previous Anfield transfer record – the £85 million paid for Darwin Nunez in 2022 – has been shattered. Wirtz has been earmarked to play as a No 10, but is equally comfortable as a wide attacker. He was the stand-out player in a Leverkusen team that became one of Europe's most talked-about clubs. Liverpool can display Olympian levels of smugness Towards the end of Liverpool's march to their 20th title, an Anfield anniversary of sorts casually slipped by without fanfare. Advertisement It is just over two years since a lone fan arranged for a light aircraft to circle the stadium demanding owners Fenway Sports Group sell up to an unspecified organisation with 'more ambition'. 'FSG OUT – KLOPP IN – ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,' read the attached banner. Two years ago, a light aircraft circled Anfield demanding the current owners sell up - PA/Peter Byrne As commemorations go, admittedly this rates low on the notability scale of memorable Anfield moments of recent times. Nevertheless, when the plane circled it was a dilemma for the reporters rolling their eyes looking to the skies as they contemplated whether one attention-seeker reflected deep-rooted and broad frustration among the Liverpool fanbase, or if the looks of bemusement and slight embarrassment from the 55,000 fans told a more accurate story. Most of those present decided upon the latter. Advertisement The trigger for the 'protest' before Liverpool's home fixture with Manchester United in March 2023 was the club's transfer strategy over successive windows, the American owners often accused of counting the pennies with their net spend while Premier League rivals seemingly splashed out mega-millions every summer. Given Liverpool won 7-0 on the day of the aircraft stunt, the stand against the regime was as badly timed as one of Darwin Nunez's runs to beat the offside trap. Now, in the immediate aftermath of the Premier League champions committing to a British record transfer to sign Wirtz, the misguided demonstration has aged worse than a heavily botoxed Hollywood actor. Mocking aside, the anti-American sentiment was not entirely without support among those sympathetic to the idea of pressuring Liverpool's hierarchy to, if not sell up, spend more on the team. When the club confirmed they would be stepping away from the pursuit of Jude Bellingham in April 2023, for example, it triggered another episode in a long-standing philosophical debate about the pros and cons of self-sustainability models in the era of nation states with unlimited budgets, or (as subsequently occurred) clubs selling hotels and women's teams to circumvent profit and sustainability rules. Liverpool's 'moneyball' policies Predictably, supporters of Manchester City and Chelsea will note the huge fee for Wirtz and wag an accusatory finger at Liverpool and yell 'hypocrisy' as the club which has made as much noise as any about the wild west of football's transfer system has ditched the Wyatt Earp impressions and opted to go on a spree worthy of Butch Cassidy's Hole-in-the-Wall gang after a particularly profitable heist. Advertisement In reality, Wirtz's signing is entirely in keeping with Liverpool's long-standing 'moneyball' policies. The critical difference is, in the FSG era, they have never been in such a strong position to flex financial muscle befitting their status, the most seismic shift with the Wirtz deal being that 10 years ago it was unthinkable that Liverpool could go head to head with Manchester City and Bayern Munich for a transfer-record-breaking prime target and emerge victorious. They have always had the will. Now they have the way. Internally, the Anfield message in 2025 is exactly the same as when the flak about prudence was at its worst. While there are limits to what any Liverpool manager can afford, every deal is scrutinised to the same degree whether the valuation is £3.5 million, £85 million or, as in this case, heading towards £116 million. The fewer the red flags, the more likely the green light. Liverpool broke the transfer record for a central defender when they bought Virgil van Dijk in 2018. They did the same for a goalkeeper when recruiting Alisson Becker in 2019. They would have spent more than anyone in English football history for a midfielder two years ago if Moises Caicedo could have been persuaded to ditch Chelsea for Liverpool. In all instances, the decision to 'go big' was the consequence of incremental increases in revenues via commercial activity and on-field success, and the equally crucial skill of being as adept at selling as buying. Advertisement Since FSG's 2010 takeover, Liverpool's revenues have increased from less than £200 million to more than £600 million, the promise John W Henry made to oversee slow and steady progress until the club's model enabled them to pitch for the world's best spectacularly vindicated. The concept of 'Liverpool spending the Philippe Coutinho money' to sign Van Dijk and Alisson has done plenty of heavy lifting in the years since. The club would have signed Van Dijk whether Coutinho had left for Barcelona or not, as was demonstrated by the fact they had tried to do the deal six months earlier. But whatever Liverpool pay for new players this summer, they can expect to recoup plenty as the combined valuations of those available could exceed £150 million. It remains to be seen what offers materialise, but it needs no stretch of the imagination to believe Wirtz will be signed with 'the Kelleher, Nunez, Elliott, Jota and Doak money'. Harvey Elliott is expected to leave Liverpool this summer - AFP/Glyn Kirk If the Anfield board wants to display Olympian levels of smugness, they could argue that the reason they can afford Wirtz is because they were prepared to be patient a year ago, the club exceptional at ignoring the 'noise' when the social media 'influencers' equate lack of spending with lack of purpose. Advertisement For all that, the Wirtz deal is a gamble. Granted, it is a calculated and meticulously thought through one, but when you commit so much, the pressure to deliver intensifies, not just on the recruit, but on those who push hardest for his signature. Big money does not guarantee success The greater the proven quality in an elite division such as the Bundesliga, the fewer the doubts. That is why such a premium is paid. But my word, it is a hell of a lot of money for one footballer. Van Dijk and Alisson looked like no-brainers at the time they posed for their club photograph and duly delivered. Naby Keita and Nunez – who cost a combined £145 million – will be filed in the warning from history chapter, despite their impressive medal haul. Advertisement As with all such captures, Wirtz will arrive amid reassuring messages about extensive scouting, data models with performance indicators suggesting the 22-year-old is already one of the world's most creative young footballers on an upward trajectory, the presumption being his value will soar during the course of his contract. The mini biographies will locate youth coaches who always knew he was destined for greatness and there is a reason so many of those with aspirations to win the Champions League next season wanted him. Excited supporters will see only guarantees of success, while rivals will ponder – as Liverpool often have when musing upon the huge fees paid by others – if signing one player for the price of three truly is good value. Either way, Wirtz's Anfield arrival is not just a statement. It is the shoutiest proclamation of intent as Liverpool look to defend their crown and pursue the Champions League. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
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34 minutes ago
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Billionaire Michael Bloomberg opens his wallet for Andrew Cuomo's mayoral bid
NEW YORK — Billionaire Michael Bloomberg was no fan of Andrew Cuomo when the two served overlapping tenures as mayor and governor. But on Friday all appeared forgiven, with Bloomberg's $5 million donation to a super PAC boosting Cuomo's mayoral bid. It's the largest cash infusion yet to the entity and comes in the final 10 days of the Democratic primary to oust Mayor Eric Adams, once a Bloomberg ally. The former mayor — a party hopscotcher who is now a Democrat — is jumping in as Cuomo faces a threat from democratic socialist challenger Zohran Mamdani, whose views on hiking taxes on the rich and criticisms of Israel are anathema to Bloomberg. The donation dovetails with the former mayor's endorsement of Cuomo this week and arrives at a critical time for the ex-governor, as he tries to mount a comeback to lead the nation's largest city. Bloomberg and Cuomo, longtime rivals, now find themselves united by a mutual loathing of the Democratic Party's left flank. After conversations between their aides, the men met earlier this week following Cuomo's Bloomberg TV interview, someone familiar with the sitdown confirmed. The donation to the Cuomo-supporting super PAC Fix the City adds to Bloomberg's $2.6 million contributions this election cycle to groups supporting City Council candidates who back charter schools, long a pet issue for the former mayor. Mamdani represents the opposite of a Bloomberg-style ideal to lead the city: A 33-year-old state lawmaker with a thin resume, an upstart challenger once considered a long shot who wants to hike taxes on rich New Yorkers and has supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israeli goods. And so Bloomberg set aside his long-standing animus toward the former governor and instead praised his extensive managerial experience — Cuomo's calling card in the race. The leading contender has stepped up his criticism of Mamdani in recent days by pointing to his paltry legislative record in Albany and questioning whether the young lawmaker has the chops to stand up to President Donald Trump. The Cuomo campaign on Thursday released a TV ad underscoring both points, and Cuomo raised them during a caustic debate Thursday night. Some polls show a tightening race in the crowded field, following months of double-digit leads for Cuomo. A poll conducted by Data for Progress for a super PAC backing Mamdani showed Cuomo would defeat him 51 percent to 49 percent after eight rounds of voting. A survey by Public Policy Polling showed Mamdani leading Cuomo 35 percent to 31, but did not include a ranked-choice voting simulation. Other polls, including one released by Cuomo's campaign and performed by Expedition Strategies, found the ex-governor handily defeating Mamdani. A public poll is expected to be released next week. Helmed by Steve Cohen, a longtime Cuomo confidant, the pro-Cuomo super PAC has received contributions from wealthy hedge fund managers, real estate developers and Trump supporters like Bill Ackman. Its largest donation until Friday was $1 million from the online delivery firm DoorDash. The group has spent more than $10 million on TV and streaming ads, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. And with this donation, it has raised more than $18 million since forming in March. Bloomberg is accustomed to dipping into his considerable fortune to fund political campaigns and causes. He spent $1 billion on his 104-day 2020 presidential campaign and funds nationwide gun control efforts. His net worth, amassed through the founding of his eponymous media business empire, stands at more than $104 billion, according to Forbes. Spending by the super PAC against Mamdani has backfired in recent days, after a never-sent mailer criticizing the democratic socialist included a doctored photo of him with a darker, heavier beard. Mamdani accused the group of stoking 'the very fears of that division in this city." A spokesperson for the PAC said the mailer was 'rejected for production and subsequently corrected.' The entity has also attracted scrutiny from campaign finance regulators who are probing whether Cuomo's campaign improperly communicated with the super PAC through a practice known as 'redboxing' on the candidate's website. Spokespeople for Cuomo and Fix the City have insisted campaign finance laws have been followed.
