Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea complete the top 10 even though the latter three clubs missed out on the Champions League last season.
Sports
Barcelona president Bartomeu resigns, all board members step down
By Fola Raheem
Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu has resigned, amid criticism and a looming vote of no confidence.
The entire board members have also stepped down from their posts, goal.com reports.
Bartomeu’s decision came after several months of criticism in the wake of Barcelona’s 8-2 Champions League elimination by Bayern Munich, as well as Lionel Messi’s shock request to leave the club shortly after.
Although the club was able to keep hold on Messi, with the longtime Barca star staying to avoid having to take the club to court, Bartomeu’s position has been under scrutiny for months.
The president had been due to officially end his tenure next year, with elections called for March, but the club’s members called for a vote of no confidence in an effort to get Bartomeu out immediately.
A total of 20,687 votes were gathered for the motion against Bartomeu, passing the threshold of 16,250 signatures required for the vote to go ahead.
The Barca board repeatedly tried to postpone the vote but, on Monday, local authorities rejected the club’s push to delay the proceedings.
As a result, the vote was set to go ahead in the coming weeks, but will no longer be necessary as Bartomeu and the board have stepped down.
Bartomeu originally joined Barca during Joan Laporta’s presidency and ascended to that role himself in January 2014.
He replaced Sandro Rosell, becoming the 40th President of Barcelona as he signed on to complete the rest of Rosell’s tenure following his resignation.
During his time in charge, Barca won La Liga four times as well as the 2014-15 Champions League, but his time in charge will largely be defined by the club’s failings in his final seasons.
Having struggled to find value in the transfer market since Neymar’s departure to join Paris Saint-Germain, Barca finished the 2019-20 season trophyless.
Their 8-2 loss to Bayern only furthered unrest, with Messi’s request to leave proving the final straw for the president.
Messi told Goal in September that Bartomeu “did not keep his word”, with former Barca star Luis Suarez saying that he believes Messi will stay at Barca if a new board arrives.
Bartomeu said on Monday that he believed that Messi could lead Barca to titles this season, admitting that he could not let the Argentine leave for the good of the club.
And now, it is Bartomeu that is leaving, as he ends his time in charge of Barca after nearly seven years.
Barcelona are set to face Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League.
Sports
Real Madrid top annual money football league clubs
Real Madrid top annual money football league clubs
Real Madrid are the first football club to top a billion euros in revenue during a single season, fuelled by income generated by the revamped Santiago Bernabeu stadium, according to financial experts Deloitte.
The order of the clubs at the top of Deloitte’s annual Football Money League stayed the same, with Madrid (1.05 billion euros, $1.09 billion) followed by Premier League champions Manchester City (838 million euros) and Paris Saint-Germain (806 million euros).
The 208-million-euro gap between first and second is the biggest Deloitte have ever recorded.
The dramatic refurbishment of the home of Real Madrid doubled matchday revenues to 248 million euros in the 2023/24 campaign.
Madrid have taken out loans totalling more than a billion euros since 2018 to renovate the Bernabeu, with the aim of turning it into a major source of revenue.
The state-of-the-art venue now boasts an undulating metal roof, shops, expanded VIP areas and a retractable pitch.
Pop megastar Taylor Swift is among the big names who have performed at the stadium since it reopened, while the NFL’s first game in Spain will take place there later this year.
However, Madrid’s aim of using the Bernabeu, which has a capacity of about 80,000, to generate extra cash has been hit by complaints over noise pollution from residents, with the club temporarily suspending the hosting of concerts.
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“Club stadia are increasingly being valued as more than just matchday assets, with a number of clubs converting their grounds into multi-use entertainment venues that attract new visitors, sponsors, and retail opportunities.” said Tim Bridge, lead partner in the Deloitte Sports Business Group.
“Football clubs are now realising the value of becoming far more than sporting brands, with media and entertainment becoming intertwined with the commercial potential that they have to offer.”
Despite an 11 percent rise in matchday revenue, commercial remained the biggest revenue source for the 20 Money League clubs for the second year running, accounting for 44 percent of total revenue.
Broadcast revenue was stable at 4.3 billion euros as each of the “Big Five” leagues –- England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany — remained in the same domestic broadcast cycle as the preceding season.
English clubs continue to dominate, fuelled by the Premier League’s television revenues, with six of the top 10 and nine among the 20 Money League clubs.
Manchester United rose to fourth on the back of a return to the Champions League (771 million euros), ahead of Bayern Munich (765 million euros).
Barcelona slipped to sixth as renovation work on their Camp Nou stadium has forced the Catalan giants to switch to the smaller Montjuic, which hosted the 1992 Olympics.
Sports
Salah hits new record with 50th European goal for Liverpool
Salah hits new record with 50th European goal for Liverpool
Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has now scored three Champions League goals this season and 22 in 31 games in all competitions.
He has also set up another 17 for team-mates and his total of 39 goal involvements is the highest of any player in Europe’s big five leagues.
His latest goal set Liverpool on their way to victory against Lille and to securing their place in the Champions League last 16.
It was a nonchalant finish as he latched on to Curtis Jones’ superb through ball and lifted over the advancing Lucas Chevalier.
It was his 50th goal in Europe for Liverpool – with 44 coming in the Champions League, five in last season’s Europa League and one in Champions League qualifying.
His latest strike extends his record as the club’s leading European goalscorer and he has now scored 20 Champions League goals at Anfield.
Former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero (23 at Etihad Stadium) and ex-Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy (23 at Old Trafford) are the only players to score more goals in the competition at a specific venue for an English team.
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“There has always been a smile on Salah’s face but it’s just that belief in himself that he will score,” said former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“That’s what makes him so dangerous. That’s the elite mindset of a player of his calibre.”
He has also been directly involved in 18 goals in 15 appearances at Anfield this season (10 goals, eight assists in all competitions).
“He is a real talisman for Liverpool,” said former Reds striker Robbie Fowler on Amazon Prime.
“He is a game winner. He is very comfortable in front of goal.
“He is one of those players that if he misses a chance, he is not fazed because the next one he will score.
“We wax lyrical about Mohamed Salah and know what he is capable of.”
Speaking to Amazon Prime, Salah said: “Hopefully [it’s] not the last one but I’m very proud of it. I wasn’t focused on it before the game.”
The 32-year-old’s long-term future at Anfield has been a constant talking point, as he has yet to sign an extension to his contract that expires at the end of this season.
At the end of December, Salah said an agreement was “far away” but former Liverpool forward Luis Garcia said the “situation is not affecting him”.
“He has never said he wants to leave,” said Garcia on Amazon Prime.
“The club never said he wants to leave. I think they are trying to give him normality. Week in, week out he is delivering, he is scoring. So this situation is not affecting him.”
Salah hits new record with 50th European goal for Liverpool
Sports
Barcelona in major comeback claim victory at Benfica
Barcelona in major comeback claim victory at Benfica
Raphinha struck a dramatic winner in stoppage time as Barcelona came from behind to beat Benfica 5-4 in a wild match on Tuesday and virtually ensure direct qualification to the Champions League last 16.
Benfica were leading 4-2 with under 15 minutes remaining but Barcelona mounted a stunning late comeback to stay three points behind leaders Liverpool.
Vangelis Pavlidis hit a first-half hat-trick for the hosts, in part thanks to two big errors by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
However a Robert Lewandowski double from the penalty spot, Eric Garcia’s header and a brace for Raphinha helped Barcelona claim a stunning last-gasp triumph in Lisbon.
“We knew how hard it would be here, in front of their fans, and they know how to play really well, they have top level players,” Raphinha told Movistar.
“We didn’t let ourselves sink at 3-1 down, we were focussed on what we needed to do to try and change the game.
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“It was a spectacular game for everyone. They could have won, or us, but we managed to take it.”
Benfica opened the scoring in the second minute, when Pavlidis escaped Pau Cubarsi and fired home from Alvaro Carreras’ low cross.
Barcelona responded swiftly with Lewandowski scoring from the penalty spot after Alejandro Balde was brought down by Benfica defender Tomas Araujo.
The hosts nosed back ahead through a stroke of luck, when Szczesny raced out of his goal to try and cut out a through-ball, but crashed into Balde.
Greece international Pavlidis gleefully collected the loose ball and rolled his second into the empty net.
Barcelona in major comeback claim victory at Benfica
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