Premier League gets government concession over regulator financial distribution deal
The government has made a late concession to the Premier League by agreeing to let English football's new independent regulator impose a compromise financial distribution deal on the game, as opposed to having to pick one of two proposals.
With Sir Keir Starmer's government enjoying a huge majority in the House of Commons, only government-backed amendments to the Football Governance Bill that will create the regulator are likely to be approved.
The government has put forward only one real amendment to the bill before Thursday's deadline for proposals but it is perhaps the most significant change to how the regulator will operate since Labour introduced its version of the bill last year.
The most contentious part of the bill relates to the so-called 'backstop' mechanism for settling rows between the Premier League and English Football League over money, with the original idea being that the two parties would present final offers to the regulator and it would then choose the offer it believed would best deliver sustainability throughout the pyramid.
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This approach, however, has been strongly criticised by many Premier League clubs.
In one of her many speeches against the bill during its passage through the House of Lords, West Ham United vice-chair Baroness Brady described it as 'legally untested pendulum arbitration' that 'throws all the pieces of the pyramid up into the air, with huge uncertainty as to where they may land'.
While she failed to explain how this calamity might unfold, four highly distinguished members of the upper house did propose an amendment to the bill that would give the regulator the power to pick one of the leagues' proposals, part of a proposal, a blend of the proposals or even make its 'own determination'.
The government did not back that amendment at the relevant stage in the House of Lords process but has now decided Lords Birt, Burns, Pannick and Thomas of Cwmgiedd were right. So, what was called the 'binary final offer model' will be replaced by a 'staged regulator determination'.
What this means in practice is if, for example, the EFL asks the regulator to settle a dispute over the size of parachute payments by triggering the backstop, the regulator will start the process by consulting the Football Association to make sure this is an issue that is within the regulator's scope.
A mediator will then be appointed to lead talks between the parties, with the goal being a negotiated settlement. If that remains elusive the leagues will then be asked to make initial suggestions, with evidence that their proposal meets the regulator's goal of creating a resilient pyramid.
Both leagues will be expected to base their proposals on the findings of the State of the Game Report that the regulator will conduct within 18 months of its creation and then repeat at five-year intervals. The regulator will review these proposals, provide feedback, ask for any additional evidence that may be needed and give the leagues a last chance to amend their offers.
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It is at this point where the new amendment really changes things, as the regulator will now be able to come up with its own view of how much money relegated clubs should receive in the Championship if it does not agree with either of the leagues' proposals.
While this change does address one of the Premier League's main complaints, it also represents a significant increase in the regulator's powers, which seems like a pyrrhic victory for the top flight given its expensive, four-year lobbying campaign to stop the regulator from ever happening.
It does, however, demonstrate that the government has listened to industry concerns and, in a rare case of a compromise pleasing everyone, the amendment should be welcomed by the EFL, FA, National League and all other interested parties.
But, as the government's preferred candidate to chair the regulator, media executive David Kogan, put it, the real intention is that nobody will trigger the 'nuclear option' of the backstop at all.
'I prefer to think of it more as a sort of tactical weapon,' he told MPs on the Culture, Media and Sports Committee earlier this month.
'You don't use nuclear options, because if you do, well, you all die. I see it as tactical weapon but it is one I would urge the world of football not to invoke.
'There is probably at least a year where there is time for football to agree among themselves, and the more they agree among themselves, the less we have to be involved.'
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New York Times
36 minutes ago
- New York Times
Inside Thomas Frank's Tottenham Hotspur appointment
Thomas Frank is probably the greatest manager in Brentford's history. He spent nearly seven years in charge of the west London side and guided them from the Championship into the Premier League. Despite having one of the lowest wage bills in the division, they recorded two top-half finishes in four seasons under him. Supporters will never forget the memorable victories over Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, while Frank helped Ivan Toney, David Raya and Bryan Mbeumo to become superstars. It is conceivable there will one day be a statue of him outside their stadium but he is walking away from Brentford, and 'leaving a big piece of (his) heart' behind, for a daunting new challenge. Advertisement On Thursday evening, Frank was announced as Tottenham Hotspur's new head coach on a three-year contract. The 51-year-old is the successor to Ange Postecoglou, who became the first Spurs manager to lift a trophy since 2008 when they won the Europa League final last month. Chairman Daniel Levy sacked Postecoglou 16 days after that famous victory over Manchester United in Bilbao, in large part because Spurs' Premier League performances under the Australian were woeful in 2024-25, losing 22 times and finishing 17th. Tottenham's fanbase are torn over the decision to sack Postecoglou and some members of the first-team squad are deeply upset. There is upheaval in the boardroom, with the arrival of new chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham, along with the departures of chief football officer Scott Munn and long-serving executive Donna-Maria Cullen. Fabio Paratici — the former managing director of football — is lurking in the background. His 30-month ban from football activity for alleged financial malpractice during his time with Juventus expires on June 30. The conditions of Paratici's ban mean he has been able to act as a consultant for Spurs over the past two and a half years and he has been spotted at home games. It will be a tricky situation to navigate but Frank has patiently waited for his opportunity at a bigger club. This is the inside story of why he decided to join Spurs. Frank has never been shy about his long-term ambitions and there were multiple occasions where he nearly left Brentford. In October 2021, a few months into Brentford's first season in the Premier League, he was interviewed by Aston Villa after they sacked Dean Smith. If he had been successful, it would have been the second time in his career that he had replaced Smith. Frank spent just under two years as Smith's assistant at Brentford and was promoted when he joined Villa. Advertisement Johan Lange was Villa's sporting director at the time and he conducted the interviews with then-chief executive officer Christian Purslow. Lange left Villa in October 2023 to become Tottenham's sporting director. Frank and Lange have known each other for nearly two decades — they worked together at Danish top-flight side Lyngby in 2006 — and will be reunited in north London. Lange and Purslow were impressed by Steven Gerrard's presentation and interview so decided to appoint the former Liverpool captain as Smith's replacement. In January 2022, Frank and his then-assistant Brian Riemer signed new long-term contracts with an improved salary at Brentford. At the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign, Leicester City were interested in Frank but they decided to stick with Brendan Rodgers. When Graham Potter took over at Chelsea that September, Frank publicly praised the decision because it would have 'been easy' for them to appoint Mauricio Pochettino or Zinedine Zidane. There are lots of similarities between Frank and Potter. Neither of them had playing careers at the highest level and they coached in Europe before punching above their weight with Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively. Frank's comments made it feel as if he was becoming restless in west London and talking up his own credentials as much as Potter's. When Villa sacked Gerrard a month later, they considered Frank again but hired former Arsenal, Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain manager Unai Emery. In December 2022, with all of the interest swirling around Frank, Brentford rewarded him with a pay rise and a new contract until 2027. Potter lasted less than seven months at Chelsea before he was sacked and Frank's tone changed. He suddenly sounded wary of leaving Brentford. 'It was difficult for (Potter) to turn down and of course he believed in himself,' Frank said. 'He was aware he was going into a big club and it could potentially be difficult but I don't think he predicted the amount of injuries they had or the amount of players they bought. Advertisement 'You never know what's going to happen in the future. I'm very privileged to be working at Brentford. We need to constantly remind ourselves of what we have, even on a day when it's grey or we are losing or a day where I wake up with big ambitions, because it's not always better on the other side.' Frank's stock was at its highest by the end of that campaign as Brentford finished ninth and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Europa League. They recorded memorable victories over Manchester United, Liverpool and his future employers Spurs. Antonio Conte was sacked by Tottenham in March but Frank was overlooked and they hired Postecoglou instead. In the 2023-24 season, Brentford struggled with injuries and Toney's eight-month suspension for betting offences, finishing 16th. Yet it did not damage Frank's reputation and he spoke with senior figures at Manchester United around the FA Cup final when they were considering sacking Erik ten Hag. Then he reached the final two for the vacancy at Chelsea but was overlooked for Enzo Maresca. In an interview with The Athletic in May 2024, he said he had 'close to the perfect football life at Brentford'. 'I can see myself being here for a long period,' Frank added. 'Can I stay here for seven more years? I don't know and that's not that I don't love Brentford, it's just: do I want to try something different? But I'm very aware the grass is not greener in the garden next door even if it looks like it. Then you get in there, take a closer look and see there are a lot of weeds in the grass.' Just over a year later and Frank has been convinced to sacrifice his near 'perfect football life'. There are lots of issues to solve at Spurs but he has not been deterred by the challenge. The Athletic reported in March that Postecoglou's long-term future was in serious doubt and that Frank, Fulham's Marco Silva and Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola were identified by Spurs as potential replacements. Iraola was their top target but he decided to stay at Bournemouth. There was a mixed reaction at Brentford. Some senior figures were not too concerned because they had become used to the constant interest in Frank. Others were worried as they thought Spurs would be the perfect fit. He would be reunited with Lange, inherit a young squad with vast potential and would not have to relocate from his family home in west London. Multiple club sources during conversations with The Athletic wondered if potential new investment — owner Matthew Benham has been open to selling a minority stake for the past few years — would tempt him into staying. Equipped with better resources, Brentford could then consistently challenge in the top half of the table. Advertisement Towards the end of the season, it became clear Spurs had made Frank their top choice and that he wanted the role. Frank's pre-existing relationship with Lange helped and Levy has been a big fan for some time. Lange was heavily involved but Levy drove the pursuit. Conversations were held about the finances it would take to prise Frank and his staff out of Brentford before the season had finished. Brentford never attempted to persuade him to stay. They accepted his ambition and are well aware their business model is all about developing and selling talent. They did not stand in Smith's way when he joined Villa and have recovered from losing star players including Ollie Watkins, Toney and Christian Eriksen. Brentford told Frank's representatives they did not want to be contacted by any interested club until after the season ended so they could focus on finishing as high as possible. Brentford were warned to expect a phone call in the evening after their final game on May 25 but it never came. Spurs winning the Europa League threatened to change everything. Nobody knew what was happening with Postecoglou. The Australian went on holiday to Greece while Levy took time off too. Brentford acted as if Frank was staying and he was even involved in the signing of Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool as their new first-choice goalkeeper. He then spent a couple of weeks in Denmark, with a short trip to Munich in between to watch Paris Saint-Germain's victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final with his family. In a strange quirk, Frank's first competitive match with Spurs will be the UEFA Super Cup against PSG on August 13 in Italy. On June 6, just over two weeks after winning the Europa League, Spurs announced they had sacked Postecoglou. They sent an email to club staff shortly before the public announcement but lots of people, including first-team players, found out through social media. Spurs did not make direct contact with Brentford until June 9. Levy and Brentford's director of football Phil Giles spent the next few days discussing the specifics of the deal. Compensation was one element of that — Brentford sources say the fee reached was around £10million ($13.6m), while Tottenham sources say that figure is closer to £5m. Advertisement The other key component of the conversation centred around which members of Frank's backroom staff would follow him. Part of the reason why negotiations dragged on is because Brentford were reluctant to lose Justin Cochrane. The former England youth-team coach has spent the past three years as Frank's assistant and was viewed as his potential replacement. Cochrane considered his options and decided to return to Spurs, where he spent nearly a decade as a coach in their academy. Head of athletic performance Chris Haslam, who worked at Brentford for over a decade across two spells and is one of Frank's most trusted allies, has joined Spurs too, along with analyst Joe Newton. Brentford were reluctant to lose that many staff members and wanted to make sure they were properly compensated. Steven Pressley left his role as head of individual player development at the beginning of June to become Dundee's head coach, which means Brentford have a lot of vacancies to fill this summer. Ideally, they do not want to hire a new head coach with a large entourage. Frank would like to persuade Mbeumo to follow him too, but the forward favours a move to Manchester United. Another reason why it took a few days to resolve Frank's future is because Brentford had already started the process of replacing him. They have identified six potential candidates and will narrow that number down before conducting formal interviews. They are long-standing admirers of Ipswich Town's Kieran McKenna, while then-Reims head coach Will Still visited their training ground at the beginning of 2024 when he was studying for his coaching badges. Still spent the 2024-25 campaign in charge of Lens and joined Southampton last month. 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This is a bittersweet moment for Brentford, who are grateful for what Frank has achieved but sad to see him leave. Advertisement Some members of the first-team squad are known to be happy for Frank as they believe he has been overlooked for other opportunities in the past. With two top-half finishes in four seasons, they think he has taken Brentford as far as he can unless they start spending more money on wages and transfers. One dressing-room source, who wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships, said: 'This is what Brentford do. We bring people in, help them do well and then sell.' Frank has not contacted the squad since the season finished but the time will come when he can give them a proper goodbye. Taking charge of Spurs is the biggest challenge of Frank's career. He has never managed in a European competition before and has to contend with the expanded version of the Champions League next season. There will be more games to manage, more scrutiny and more pressure. He overachieved across seven special years at Brentford and now he will try to repeat the trick with Spurs. (Top photos: Mike Hewitt,; design: Demetrius Robinson)
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Everything to know on Soccer Aid 2025 including how to watch and the squads
Soccer Aid is back for 2025 with the annual charity football match once again featuring a whole host of celebrities and former footballers. The event was created by singer Robbie Williams back in 2006 in order to raise money for the children's charity UNICEF. Every year, an England XI takes on a World XI and the 2024 match saw more than £15 million raised. England emerged victorious after a high-scoring 6-3 game last year, which ended a five-game winning streak from World XI. Soccer Aid for UNICEF is back! 🏆💙 🏟️ Old Trafford, Manchester 🗓️ Sunday 15th June 🎟️ Get your tickets today 🫡@ManUtd | #SoccerAid — Soccer Aid (@socceraid) March 11, 2025 You can donate to Soccer Aid on the website here. As always, the squads for Soccer Aid contain a mixture of celebrities and former professional players. Usual favourites such as Sir Mo Farah and Paddy McGuinness will be returning. The squad lists for Soccer Aid 2025 are as follows: Alex Brooker Jermain Defoe Steven Bartlett Toni Duggan Angry Ginge Tom Grennan Joe Hart Your England squad is nearly complete. Who else needs to be added? 🏴✍️ — Soccer Aid (@socceraid) June 6, 2025 Steph Houghton Bella Ramsey Bear Grylls Dame Denise Lewis Aaron Lennon Sir Mo Farah Paddy McGuinness Gary Neville Sam Quek Wayne Rooney Jill Scott Paul Scholes Vicky McClure Louis Tomlinson Phil Jagielka Michael Carrick Roman Kemp Jack Wilshere James Nelson-Joyce Leonardo Bonucci Tobi Brown Tony Bellew Richard Gadd Dermot Kennedy Maisie Adam Kaylyn Kyle Bryan Habana Gorka Márquez Nadia Nadim Livi Sheldon (aka Diamond from Gladiators) David Trezeguet Edwin Van der Sar Nicky Byrne Nemanja Vidic Harry Kewell Carlos Tevez Big Zuu Noah Beck Billy Wingrove Robbie Keane Asim Chaudry John O'Shea Kheira Hamraoui Soccer Aid 2025 arrivals have begun 📸 🔥 — Soccer Aid (@socceraid) June 12, 2025 Harry Redknapp will be returning to manage England, while boxer Tyson Fury and Line of Duty actress Vicky McClure will also be part of the management team. Wayne Rooney will also be involved on the coaching side as well as being a listed player. TV personality Sam Thompson had initially been announced as a player for England, but will now be part of the management team following an injury. Meanwhile, former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel will be managing World XI, alongside actors Emmett J. Scanlan and Martin Compston. Soccer Aid 2024 will be hosted at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, with kick-off occurring at 7.30pm on Sunday, June 15. Recommended reading: Match Of The Day fans say it 'won't be the same' without Gary Lineker amid exit Pubs across the country to stay open longer this summer - but on one condition See the 10 stadiums in the UK and Ireland that will host Euro 2028 matches Old Trafford has hosted the match on eight previous occasions, with the most recent one being in 2023. Coverage for Soccer Aid 2025 will be available to watch from 6pm on ITV1 and ITX on Sunday, June 15. Dermot O'Leary and Alex Scott will be presenting the coverage, while Sam Matterface and Jason Manford will be providing commentary.
New York Times
40 minutes ago
- New York Times
How can Liverpool afford Florian Wirtz?
The signing of Florian Wirtz comprises a new club-record deal for Liverpool. Wirtz will join from Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract. In exchange, Liverpool have agreed to pay the German club £100million ($135.9m) in guaranteed fees, with a potential £16m due in add-ons. The deal, even without those add-ons, eclipses Liverpool's previous transfer record by a distance. That record is generally seen as having been in place since January 2018, when they parted with £75m to buy Virgil van Dijk from Southampton. Advertisement In fact, the Van Dijk fee may already have been topped prior to this agreement. Darwin Nunez was signed from Benfica in June 2022 for an initial £64m that could rise to £85m. To the end of last December, according to the Portuguese side's financial disclosures, Liverpool had paid a further €10m (around £8.5m) of a potential €25m in add-ons, so any more conditions being met in the last six months could mean Nunez's transfer fee went past Van Dijk's. Either way, Wirtz's signing tops both of them, and makes him one of only a dozen or so footballers in history to command a £100m-plus fee. How, then, can his new side afford him? Wirtz's club-record arrival comes at a time when Liverpool are enjoying record revenues. They cleared £600m for the first time in 2023-24, a year in which they had to make do with Europa League football and finishing third in the Premier League. Last season, with a return to the Champions League and a twentieth domestic title secured, alongside a full season of the extended Anfield Road End being open and continued commercial growth, Liverpool should have topped £700m in turnover, a feat only previously managed by Manchester City in England. A further record in 2025-26 looks likely. The Athletic estimates Liverpool earned £181.5m through winning the Premier League and, even if they don't retain the title in 2025-26, they will still benefit from an uptick in the league's overall income. A new TV rights cycle starts this season, with the Premier League expecting to earn £12.25bn over the next three years — a 17 per cent increase on the 2022-25 cycle. Liverpool's commercial growth is well-placed to continue. August will see them begin a new kit deal with Adidas. The agreement, while incentive-based, represents a significant potential increase on the club's already lucrative arrangement with Nike. The latter secured Liverpool a base payment of £30million a season, but garnered around double that in reality. Booming revenues are all well and good but of little use if your expenditure is through the roof. Liverpool lost £57.1million pre-tax in 2023-24, the worst financial result both of the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) era and in the club's history, so are costs are swallowing their income whole? Not really. That big loss a year ago was very much out of the ordinary for a club who, across FSG's near-15 years at the helm, have broken even. In fact they've most likely done better than that: as detailed in The Athletic's BookKeeper series, published in March, we expect Liverpool to have returned to profitability in 2024-25, and healthy profitability too. Even if the club's wage bill crept up to the £400m mark — not a guarantee by any stretch, but possible once league-winning bonuses were handed out — we project Liverpool could still have booked a £30m profit. Advertisement The club are big wage-payers, as evidenced by their 2023-24 wage bill only trailing Manchester City domestically. The Athletic understands Wirtz will earn around £200,000 per week at Anfield, before any bonuses which may accrue to him. From Liverpool's perspective, inclusive of employer-related costs on top of his basic salary, Wirtz will cost them at least £12m a year to employ. Liverpool have some world-class players and pay them accordingly, but they'll benefit from the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who also cost them £12m a year in employment-related costs (again before bonuses). One of the reasons the signings of Van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson are often pointed to as examples of Liverpool not skimping on fees is they were pretty much outliers; they did spend big on the pair, but their transfer spending has generally trailed domestic rivals. At the end of 2023-24 the cost of assembling Liverpool's squad, across transfer and agent fees, was £749.4m, the seventh most expensive squad in the world but well behind Chelsea (£1.4bn), Manchester City (£1.1bn), Manchester United (£943.9m) and Arsenal (£882.4m). Correspondingly, annual amortisation costs hitting the club's books were well below domestic peers; Liverpool's amortisation bill of £114.5m last year was over £20m behind Spurs and £75m less than Chelsea. After a quiet summer in 2024, amortisation won't have ticked up much, if at all. Assuming his signing completes on June 16, when the transfer window reopens, Wirtz's £100m fee, plus assumed agent fees on top of around 10 per cent, will add £20.9m to Liverpool's 2025-26 amortisation bill, with a further £21.8m per season following thereafter until 2029-30 (a small sliver, £1.8m, will fall into 2030-31 as a result of the club's 31 May accounting date). Alongside the recent signing of Jeremie Frimpong, they'll have added around £28m a season onto their amortisation costs, but they'll still trail all the rest of the 'Big Six' clubs, with the potential exception of Spurs. Advertisement No. We recently explained how Liverpool could have lost £75m last season without breaking any Premier League rules. Across wages and transfer fee amortisation, signing Wirtz will add an extra £34m or so in annual costs — but the club have the headroom to handle it. That's not to say that outgoings are not likely this summer. They aren't needed to satisfy Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) — the profitability of 2024-25 and growing revenues will ensure no issues there — but they will help balance both the squad and the books. FSG has long sought to run Liverpool sustainably and, while they can splurge this summer without fear of bankruptcy or rule-breaking, and lose a chunk of money in 2025-26 if they wish to, that doesn't mean they'll do it for the sake of it. A big money departure, likely Nunez, would be no surprise. Cash worries are different from PSR ones, but Liverpool have little concern there either. Access to funds is no problem. Even if FSG was reluctant to loan money in (something they've generally preferred to do for infrastructure spend rather than operational costs), the ownership refinanced a revolving credit facility in September last year, lifting its limit from £200m to £350m. At the end of May 2024, it had only drawn down £116m of the original £200m, so there's plenty to be dipped into if the need arises. Liverpool may not need to increase borrowings anyway. Operating cash flow was positive at £83.7m in 2023-24 even without Champions League revenue, while cash spent on infrastructure has reduced following the completion of the revamped Anfield Road End. As well, their relatively low spending on transfers — and keenness to pay more of deals up front if they can — means Liverpool owe far less than peers in outstanding fee instalments. At the end of May 2024, they owed a net £69.9m, an amount which is expected to have dropped even lower in the past year. The previous figure was already lower than seven other Premier League clubs at the time and nowhere near the £308.9m Manchester United owed at the end of March 2025. Signing Wirtz is a significant undertaking for Liverpool. Combining the transfer fee, assumed agent fees and five years of his basic salary puts the total cost to Liverpool of signing and employing him at an estimated £170.5m. With potential add-ons and bonuses that sum could feasibly reach £200m. All parties concerned will hope it does — it will mean Wirtz and Liverpool have enjoyed plenty of success together. Those are big sums, but then Liverpool are a wealthy club. FSG's ownership has not been to every fan's taste, but it is precisely because of its frugality that Liverpool are able to make these deals when opportunities arise.
