Deloitte Football Money League – 2008-09 revenue (last year’s position in brackets):
1 (1) Real Madrid £341.9 million
2 (3) Barcelona £311.7m
3 (2) Man Utd £278.5m
4 (4) Bayern Munich £246.6m
5 (6) Arsenal £224.0m
6 (5) Chelsea £206.4m
7 (8) Liverpool £184.8m
8 (11) Juventus £173.1m
9 (10) Inter Milan £167.4m
10 (7) AC Milan £167.4m
11 (15) Hamburg £124.9m
12 (9) Roma £124.7m
13 (12) Lyon £118.9m
14 (16) Marseille £113.5m
15 (14) Tottenham £113.0m
16 (13) Schalke £106.0m
17 (n/a) Werder Bremen £97.7m
18 (20) B Dortmund £88.1m
19 (n/a) Man City £87.0m
20 (17) Newcastle £86.0m
Football’s rule-makers have shut the door on goal-line technology and effectively ended any chance of video replays coming into the game.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting in Zurich voted against continuing any further experiments with goal-line technology although the FA and Scottish FA both voted in favour.
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Real Madrid’s massive summer spending was all in vain as their dream of playing the Champions League final at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium was shattered Wednesday by Lyon.
Miralem Pjanic’s goal 15 minutes from time in the Spanish capital secured a 2-1 aggregate win and eliminated Real at the last 16 stage for the sixth successive season.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo had levelled the tie for Real in the sixth minute but Bosnia-Herzegovina teenager Pjanic, 19, scored the biggest goal of his life on 75 minutes to put Lyon in the quarter-finals.
After spending over 250 million euros in the summer, with Ronaldo and Kaka accounting for a large part of that, expectations were high.
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They came to praise David Beckham and bury AC Milan. They came to praise Wayne Rooney and bury the Glazers. On a surreal evening at Old Trafford, the mood switching from testimonial to revolution and celebration, Manchester Unitedcruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Good performances were seen throughout United’s team. Rooney was himself, wonderfully accomplished, a constant menace, scoring two more goals.
Ji-sung Park kept Andrea Pirlo quiet and even popped up to score. Darren Fletcher was industry personified, moving around the pitch with all the energy that Milan so patently lack, and capping his fine display with a late, headed goal.
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Tale of the game
A staggering summer outlay of over €250 million and home advantage for the final has seen Real Madrid put themselves under immense pressure to win the Champions League this season.
However, the record nine-time European champions first have to come from behind to eliminate French side Lyon who arrive for Wednesday’s last 16 decider at the Santiago Bernabeu holding a 1-0 first leg lead.
Real have been unstoppable in the league at home winning all 13 games but in Europe their dominance has not been as overwhelming losing 3-2 to AC MIlan at home in this season’s group stage while Liverpool and Juventus both won in Madrid last season.
Lyon, third in their domestic league, may not have the grandeur of Real but they are seasoned campaigners in the Champions League and have outperformed Real in the last five campaigns reaching the quarter-final stage in 2005 and 2006.
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Key clash
Gary Neville v Ronaldinho: With Brazilian teenager Rafael enduring a turbulent evening against Ronaldinho during the first-leg, United captain Neville is expected to be called upon to use his vast experience to nullify the Milan forward’s threat.
Ronaldinho has seen better days, but his flashes of brilliance in the San Siro underlined his threat, so Neville must be on top of his game.
Talking tactics
United’s 3-2 first-leg victory has given Sir Alex Ferguson’s team a huge advantage going into the second-leg, but Milan have displayed their ability to win away from the San Siro in the Champions League this season.
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Manchester United’s Old Trafford could be quieter next season as two thirds of season ticket holders at Old Trafford are planning not to renew, a report from The Guardian claims.
The newspaper obtained figures from Virgin Money which show that 59% of United fans are considering giving up their season tickets at the “Theatre of Dreams”.
There were already signs of discontent before this season, when for the first time in living memory a number of season tickets went on general sale as a result of supporters taking their names off the lengthy waiting list that traditionally exists for United season tickets.
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Blackburn striker El-Hadji Diouf faces two years in prison for an alleged assault on a Senegalese woman.
Diouf was charged with wounding the woman during a trip back to his homeland of Senegal for a charity concert at the weekend.
The incident is reported to have taken place on June 28 last year when Diouf, along with wrestler Cheik Sadibou Boye, were the subject of a complaint by Khady Sy.
She alleges an assault took place at the Casino du Cap Vert in the Senegalese coastal resort of Almadies.
Diouf’s agent Aleksandar Krstic said: “He was attending a charity event and did not expect to be arrested.
“At this stage I cannot say much more but I will be coming to the UK this week to speak to him about the matter.”
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Manchester United and Manchester City are ready to slug it out for Joe Cole.
Cole, 28, is set to leave Chelsea on a free in the summer after talks over a new deal at Stamford Bridge broke down.
The England star is furious at Chelsea’s offer of just a one-year contract with the option of another year.
The terms are less than the £80,000-a-week he currently earns as part of a clampdown on huge salaries and the midfielder is demanding £100,000-a-week to stay at the Bridge.
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Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios has admitted he is using Spurs as a stepping stone for a dream move to Real Madrid.
The Honduras international has proven himself a key player for Tottenham since completing a £12 million move from Wigan Athletic in January.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is reliant on Palacios to play the ‘Makelele role’, protecting the back four and thus allowing the likes of Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar to push further up the field.
And news that the 25 year-old does not see his long-term future at White Hart Lane will be cause for concern.
Palacios is quoted in the Sun as saying: “I am really happy at Tottenham but I will continue working for a future move to a bigger club. I would like to play for Real Madrid.
“Today, many people respect me in England. That’s because of my hard-working attitude.”
