As @wyld.at.hrt says Real Madrid’s finances are fairly strong - and they are (as far as we know) from legitimate football income, they just have a massive fanbase/ audience that they are able to leverage commercially.
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Considering they needed the Super League so badly just to stay afloat, I don’t buy that…
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I’d agree if it came from Port Vale or someone, Madrid will spend all summer destabilising other clubs for their players so it rings rather hollow.
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They didnt. They borrowed heavily and spent over $800m on their stadium redevelopment, but were still making a profit throughout the pandemic despite seeing their revenues fall by 300m euros. During that time they were still able to reduce their debt on the playing side to about 34m euros down from about 200m.
Last year they signed a deal with a US company, Sixth Street, to use the Bernabau stadium for ‘Legends’ events which they get paid something like $500m a year I think. Just a couple of days ago they signed another deal with the same company for 360m euros allowing sixth street to run businesses from the stadium.
The stadium is due to be finished this year and expected to generate an additional 120m euros a year for the club. Then as said above there are several high earners who have left the club over the last couple of seasons or will be this summer.
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Can’t stand Real Madrid but I am delighted with the forthright way they are taking this on. It is needed.
I can only hope Man City get the same sort of treatment when the Haaland deal is confirmed.
PSG and Man City are a stain on the game. If we want financial structure and regulation, then let’s have it.
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I think for me the most amusing thing about the statement is that it is La Liga having a sook on behalf of RM. La Liga wouldn’t give two fucks if PSG’s KM offer was blocking the move to a club within La Liga not called RM or Barca. The league body is there of course to protect and stand up for the clubs, but in La Liga the strength of that defence is heavily weighted in favour of the two largest clubs.
Fuck RM. Fuck PSG.
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You are quite right, and I can’t stand RM.
Still, I think the nation state development in football - PSG, City, now Newcastle - is awful for the game, and it’s a good thing that RM are using their platform in this way.
Self serving, absolutely, but it’s on the right side of this issue, so I’m happy enough. If it helps towards better fair play for the oil states, so much the better.
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Yes, black, kettle, pot, and sadly, ironically funny at the same time.
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Lol, I’m thinking that they probably convinced the sponsors that the imminent signing of Mbappe will make it worthwhile.
Haha…this is what you get for getting State money into the game and not regulating them strictly.
It would be typical of them if Madrid friendly press start pumping out Salah to Real rumours right before the final.
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Salah’s agent will be doing that job, for Madrid. He started over six months ago.
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Well quite it’s hardly going destabilise Salah, it’s been going on for 6 months.
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No pre-match thread yet?
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sigh Always the pressure to perform… Oh well, we go again.
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While our eyes were on Elliott’s man-purse and Scottish dish favored by Ramsay, the new season of Champions League got quietly underway.
Inter Escaldes 
and Víkingur Reykjavík 
will play in the final of the Preliminary rounds tonight.
The first-leg games of the first qualifying round will take place on July 5 & 6.
Pyunik (ARM) vs CFR Cluj (ROU)
Maribor (SVN) vs Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR) *
Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) vs Sutjeska Nikšić (MNE)
Diddeleng (LUX) vs Tirana (ALB)
Tobol (KAZ) vs Ferencváros (HUN)
Malmö (SWE) vs Preliminary round winners
Ballkani (KOS) vs Žalgiris (LIT)
HJK (FIN) vs RFS (LVA)
Bodø/Glimt (NOR) vs KÍ (FRO)
The New Saints (WAL) vs Linfield (NIR)
Shamrock Rovers (IRL) vs Hibernians (MLT)
Lech Poznań (POL) vs Qarabağ (AZE)
Shkupi (MKD) vs Lincoln Red Imps (GIB)
Zrinjski (BIH) vs Sheriff (MDA)
Slovan Bratislava (SVK) vs Dinamo Batumi (GEO)
Can you name the clubs who have previously played in the group stage?
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I can name the ones who reached the final once. 
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Sheriff, Maribor, Cluj, Ferencvaros… Malmø?
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I would add Ludogorets, HJK, Lech Poznań, Qarabağ?
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