Leicester City stars face up to 50 per cent wage cuts after relegation
Leicester City’s players are facing wage cuts of up to 50 per cent next season following their relegation from the Premier League.
Leicester have acted to protect themselves when offering contracts to new players in recent years having also been relegated two seasons ago, with recent arrivals agreeing to pay cuts of between 35 and 50 per cent if they remain at the King Power Stadium in the Championship.
A fire sale of players is still expected at the club this summer, as their wage bill will remain high for the second tier even taking into account the mandatory cuts.
Leicester are likely to listen to offers for all members of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s squad, with Danish goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, Morocco midfielder Bilal El Khannouss and Republic of Ireland winger Kasey McAteer the most in-demand.
They avoided a breach of profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) last season as a result of selling players before the 30 June cut-off but Leicester could still face action for their £24.4m overspend during the 2022-23 campaign.
While an independent commission ruled that the Premier League lacked the jurisdiction to charge them as Leicester had been relegated by the time they filed their accounts, the matter is now subject to a confidential arbitration process following an appeal.
Leeds and Burnley hand Premier League £50m
The Premier League will bank £51.5m as a result of Burnley and Leeds being promoted from the Championship this week as they will not have to provide either club with parachute payments next season.
Burnley would have been entitled to £35m in their second season in the Championship, with Leeds due a final payment of £16.5m in their third EFL campaign following relegation from the top light in 2022-23, but that money will now be retained by the Premier League.
Ironically, given that both clubs threatened to sue the Premier League that season over its handling of Everton’s PSR breaches, the savings should just about cover the Premier League’s 2023-24 legal fees, although those costs are expected to be higher this season due to the ongoing wrangles with Manchester City.
England cricket fans wait for highlights deal
The ECB is yet to confirm a TV highlights package for England’s men’s matches this summer with just over four weeks to go until the first Test of the summer, a one-off match against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.
The BBC is understood to have secured a new four-year highlights deal that also gives it live rights to 15 matches in The Hundred, but an announcement has been held up by ongoing negotiations with Channel 5 over the live rights for four England T20 games later in the summer.
The BBC opted not to bid for the T20s – two for Harry Brook’s men’s side and two for the currently captain-less women – with Channel 5 stepping in, as first reported by the Daily Telegraph last December.
Confirmation from the England and Wales Cricket Board is expected when both contracts have been signed.
Fifa Club World Cup plans questioned
Fifa’s marketing of the Club World Cup could be costing it ticket sales as it is focusing on national and international campaigns rather than targeting local US markets where the games are being played.
President Gianni Infantino has been using his own Instagram account to promote the tournament, while journalist-turned-influencer Fabrizio Romano has plugged tickets on several social media platforms to his millions of followers.
But sources in the States have told City PM that such a strategy may backfire given the highly localised and more traditional nature of the American media market.
With Club World Cup games to be played in 11 different cities, they argue that Fifa would be better advised running extensive advertising campaigns on local TV networks, radio stations and even in newspapers close to the host venues.
The level of ticket sales is a closely guarded secret even within Fifa, although one indication that they may be sluggish came earlier this month with the announcement of a special offer that anyone buying 20 tickets for the Club World Cup would be guaranteed an opportunity to buy one ticket for next year’s World Cup.
In another sign of slow sales, tickets for some Club World Cup fixtures are now being offered on resale sites for less than the initial asking price.
LaLiga eyes new UK TV deals
LaLiga is seeking two new UK broadcast partners, with exclusive rights for all of next season’s matches in the Spanish top flight, plus a free-to-air package, up for grabs in a new tender.
Premier Sports secured a cut-price one-year deal last season, but LaLiga would prefer a broadcaster with greater reach, while ITV’s three-year deal for 10 matches a season also expires next month.
Sky Sports and TNT Sports are being targeted for talks, although with the number of Premier League games to be broadcast live next season increasing from 200 to 270 they may not have room in their schedules.
Dazn already has exclusive rights for all 380 LaLiga matches in Italy and Portugal and is exploring a bid.