Real Madrid agrees mammoth contract with Legends

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Real Madrid has strengthened its connection with Legends – a food, beverage, merchandise, retail and stadium operations. The two parties have agreed a long-term deal for the commercial exploitation of the revamped Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

The Spanish powerhouse penned a 25-year contract with US-based company Legends, through which they will be entitled to 20% of the profits from a new company managing the Bernabéu, subject to the amount of income targets achieved.

In short, Legends will reportedly inject $238 million, expandable up to between $637m and $700m into the project, subject to Real delivering on stadium-related objectives.

This ensures a strengthening in collaboration, with Real and Legends having already teamed up in July 2020 to launch a flagship store at the Bernabéu. Legends has outlined that the Bernabéu has the potential to generate the aforementioned $637m to $700m per year in revenue through the staging of events and other commercial activities at the stadium.

This is a significantly large increase compared to Real Madrid President Florentino Perez’s predictions, as he recently mentioned of the new Bernabéu’s potential to add a further $238m per year to its current income levels of around $318m.

Last month, Real confirmed that the redevelopment of the Bernabéu would receive a second injection of financing, stating the conditions it had secured represented the “best ever obtained” for a long-term arrangement in the sports industry.

The announcement confirmed earlier reports that Real had agreed a deal to raise the necessary funds to complete the redevelopment of the Bernabéu, and at a lower cost than the previous financing package it took out.

It was revealed in May 2020 that Real’s transformation project for the Bernabéu would include the installation of a retractable pitch, with such a system enabling extra events such as concerts.

The redevelopment project is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2023, with the costs having increased beyond the originally intended budget of between $1.27 billion and $1.43 billion.

Ned Morris to step down as Adelaide United chair

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Image credit: PxHere website

Adelaide United have confirmed that Ned Morris will step down as chair after a mutual agreement and will continue in an advisory role with the club.

Morris spent 18 months in the role and Adelaide United has stated they will carefully evaluate the future of the chair position, making sure it aligns with their long-term goals.

Morris and the club have acknowledged that there will be significant challenges along the way, with the internal restructure now complete.

In addition, Adelaide United felt the time was right for a shift towards a local South Australian approach.

Morris reflected on his time serving as chair at Adelaide United and said he is still ready to show the club’s full support:

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the past 18 months working closely with the United family on behalf of Australia’s best A-League fans, the Reds,” he said in a media release on the club’s website.

“I am very confident that we have put in place the right vision, strategy, and key personnel to see the Club achieve ultimate success in the very near future.

“I remain committed to working with Adelaide United in an advisory role and look forward to supporting our men’s and women’s teams ahead of the 2024-25 season.”

Major shareholder and ownership representative at Adelaide United, Cor Adriannse, said about Morris’ contribution to the club:

“We have greatly enjoyed working with Ned over the last 18 months. He has been a tremendous asset to the Club, especially in navigating the difficult post-COVID phase for both the Club and the league,” he said in a media release on the club’s website.

“We deeply appreciate the improvements he has driven alongside our management team. Ned will always remain connected to the Club, and we intend to continue working together in one capacity or another.”

Throughout Morris’ tenure, he drove key developments such as the high-performance program investment strategy, establishing a global partnership with Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven and appointing Ernest Faber as Technical Director in May this year.

He also expanded the Youth Football Scholarships, renegotiated a five-year tenancy at Coopers Stadium and successfully approved several government funding grants.

Key concerns for FIFPRO’s Player Workload Monitoring report

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Image credit: Jude Bellingham Instagram

FIFPRO has recently released their annual Player Performance and Recovery report for 2024, this report is developed by FIFPRO IQ in conjunction with Football Benchmark, a leading data and analysis group on football business.

The report explains in detail the problems facing professional footballers by leaders within the industry and the players themselves. This report not only factors in the physical impact of the sport but also the psychological impact.

FIFPRO’s Player Workload Monitoring tool (PWM) the primary system behind this report monitors 1500 players spread across 100 leagues and 150 nationalities.

They have pointed out the obvious lack of appreciation by tournament organisers for the physical and mental well-being of football players and an evident lack of organised calendar planning.

Acting FIFPRO General Secretary Stephane Burchkalter stressed the importance of this report via press release:

“We release these reports for a good reason. Because, today, we face one of the most serious and urgent problems in our sport. A problem that results from the abuse of governance and a failure of the duty of care. The holistic workload that confronts our players is unprecedented. It has produced a physical and mental fatigue that is now dangerous.”

With increased match loads, travel loads and shortening of preparation the risks have never been higher with 54% of PMW players experiencing excessive or high-demand workloads.

88% of players’ time is recorded to be spent in the workplace environment and 17% in national team environments.

The world-renowned Uruguayan coach Marco Bielsa stated via press release:

“To ignore the consequences of the number of games and amount of travelling will end in injuries for any player.”

This report identifies that some players have seen their free time fall to nearly 12% of the calendar year, which adds up to less than a single day off per week. This fails to comply with international Occupational Safety and Health standards.

There have been calls for a guaranteed rest period which 72% of players and 78% of coaches support.

As the demand for games grows and the push for more revenue skyrockets, the players see their health and voices continue to deteriorate.

This report and FIFAPRO highlight the firm action that needs to happen to protect the stars of the sport.

For more information about the report, read more here.

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