La Liga
LIVERPOOL CLOSE IN ON MAN UTD AS MADRID, BARCA TOP FINANCIAL RANKING
Premier League champions, Liverpool are reportedly closing in on Manchester United as England’s most valuable football club after their Premier League title triumph.
The latest edition of the Brand Finance Football Annual also reports that the current Premier League champions are up to fourth in the worldwide rankings, with their value rising by six per cent to £1.143 billion (€1.262bn), just £47million behind Manchester United’s £1.190bn valuation – which represents a drop of £143m on the previous year and a fall to third in the rankings.
However, both clubs are some way behind leading La Liga duo of Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the former retaining top spot despite making nearly a 14 per cent loss, with the coronavirus crisis causing the total brand value of top 50 clubs to fall for the first time in six years.
The Brand Finance Review shows that Real Madrid are positioned in number one with the total value of the club currently at £1.286bn (€1.419bn), despite a drop in value of a staggering £205m.
Barcelona’s value, meanwhile, actually increased by 1.4 per cent – meaning there is now just £5.4m (€6m) between the two clubs at the top of the worldwide rankings -with Barca’s value a total of £1.280bn (€1.413bn).
Overall, the top 10 is made up of six English teams, with Manchester City in fifth after a 10.4 per cent decrease (a total of £118m) in their valuation to £1.018bn (€1.124bn).
Chelsea dropped a place to eighth, with their value decreasing for the fourth consecutive year, while Tottenham are ninth just above Arsenal by £58.9m (€65m), who are in 10th.
The Gunners in particular saw a huge drop in their value, with a decrease of £150m representing an 18.18 per cent drop on their 2019 valuation.
Spurs enjoyed a three per cent increase in their value, largely because of the opening of their new £1billion, 60,000-capacity stadium.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are the only German side in the top 10 – they’re positioned sixth in the table – whilst PSG are the only French club and they sit seventh in the table.
Perhaps surprisingly, there is no Italian club in the top 10, with Juventus situated in 11th, Inter Milan 14th and AC Milan 22nd.
Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund are placed in 12th, Atletico Madrid are a place behind in 13th, while Champions League quarter-finalists Red Bull Leipzig complete the top-15.
Other Premier League clubs experienced huge increases in valuation, with Leicester City recording a 44 per cent increase to £301m (€333m) as a result of their season in the upper echelons of the table, even though they just missed out on Champions League qualification on Sunday.
Wolves, who finished seventh in the table and are still in the Europa League, are also 30 per cent higher than 2019, with their valuation standing at £219m (€242m).
Some Premier League clubs have experienced a sizeable drop in their brand value though, such as Bournemouth (-31 per cent), Watford (-21 per cent), and West Ham United (-18 per cent).
Overall, the effect of COVID-19 on the three main revenue streams for clubs – matchday, broadcasting and commercial – has seen £680m (€751m), or 3.7 per cent, knocked off the cumulative brand value of the world’s top 50 most valuable football clubs.
Barcelona turned the Clasico into a coronation on Sunday, swatting aside Real Madrid 2-0 at a roaring Camp Nou to claim their 29th LaLiga title.
Hansi Flick’s side moved to an unassailable 91 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real with three games remaining.
The triumph capped a dominant campaign in which they lost only four league matches. Villarreal are third on 69 points.
Real arrived needing victory to keep their wafer-thin title hopes alive, but Marcus Rashford crushed those aspirations just nine minutes into the game.
Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres just outside the box, and Rashford bent a superb free kick into Thibaut Courtois’ top-left corner, giving Barcelona the early lead and sending the home crowd into raptures.
Nine minutes later, Barcelona doubled the lead. Fermin Lopez crossed into the area, and Dani Olmo produced a clever backheel that sent the ball into the path of Torres, who rifled a fierce strike into the top corner.
The win completed back-to-back league titles for Flick, who also delivered the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in his first season last year.
Both sides were heavily depleted. Barcelona were without Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Jules Kounde from the starting lineup.
Real’s list of missing players was longer, with Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Arda Guler and Rodrygo all absent. Federico Valverde also missed out after suffering a head injury following a midweek changing-room fight with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, with both players fined 500,000 euros over the incident.
Kylian Mbappe did not travel because of a leg muscle injury, forcing manager Alvaro Arbeloa to start Vinicius Jr alongside academy striker Gonzalo, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz pushing forward in support.
Real threatened through Vinicius and Gonzalo before halftime, but Barcelona carried the greater menace. Courtois kept the visitors alive with fine saves from Torres and Rashford before the interval.
Barcelona continued to press after the break, Rashford repeatedly tormenting left back Fran Garcia down the right, while Courtois produced another sharp stop with his left foot to deny Torres from point-blank range in the 56th minute.
Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in the 62nd minute, and Joan Garcia was quick to deny Vinicius in a one-on-one, preventing the Brazilian from lifting the ball over him.
Real kept probing late on, but there was little bite in their attack, and Barcelona calmly saw out the win before the title celebrations began.
“This title is even more special because we won it at home against Real Madrid. Now it’s time to enjoy it with the fans,” Frenkie de Jong told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus.
“Every title has to be celebrated in style. Especially LaLiga, which is a year-long competition. We’ve clearly been the best in Spain.”
-Reuters
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Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca captain Jorge Pulido in a fiery Spanish second division clash on Sunday that descended into a mass brawl, with Huesca keeper Dani Jimenez dismissed for punching Andrada.
Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review of the brawl.
With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, Argentine Andrada lost his composure moments before the final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached Pulido and struck him in the face with his right hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time.
It was an ugly flashpoint in a match already short on finesse and heavy on nerves, and could carry serious consequences for the goalkeeper.
Huesca manager Jose Luis did not attempt to defend the scenes.
“It’s hard to explain; I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that I don’t know what to do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said.
“It’s ugly; this was supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese football. I’d like people to talk about the match, even though it was ugly, with little play but a lot of hard work.”
Oscar Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza remain second-bottom on 35.
-Reuters
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Joan Laporta has been re-elected as Barcelona president after winning over 68 percent of the vote and will begin his second consecutive term, and fourth overall, from July 1, the club said on Sunday.
The 63-year-old took office in March 2021 and stepped down last month in line with club statutes in order to seek re-election.
Laporta described the election as a “celebration of democracy and civic responsibility” and said the tasks ahead included finishing work on the Camp Nou and strengthening the men’s team.
-Reuters
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