Welcome to Athletic Interest.Â
Itâs almost the end of the year, and we wanted to do something a little different this week. 2023 has been a crazy year, so we decided to do a quick rundown of the most interesting and important things that have happened.Â
This way, you can sound super smart at the family dinner table when someone inevitably asks about recent trends in sports business.Â
The global sports market supposedly generated over $512 Billion in 2023. Itâs not clear how that number was generated but itâs sufficiently large to prove our point⊠sports business is big business.
If you look deeper into how the industry spent its money this year, three names keep coming up⊠Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Saudi Arabia.Â
2023 started with a bang. Cristiano Ronaldo shocked the world and signed with Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr on a world record contract of $200 million per season.Â
The size of Ronaldoâs pay packet dominated global headlines and had exactly the effect that the Saudi Arabian league wanted. It was a declaration of intent. Saudi Arabia wanted to have one of the biggest leagues in the world and it was going to spend ridiculous amounts of money to achieve this.Â
When the summer transfer window came around, the Saudi league stayed true to its word. Saudi clubs spent a whopping âŹ847 million on new players. That was more than the Bundesliga or LaLiga and around âŹ800 million more than they themselves spent in the previous summer.Â
The most important aspect here is not how much they spent but who they spent it on. Saudi clubs went after top European-based talent and snapped up Neymar, Benzema, ManĂ©, Firmino and many more. None were in their prime, but all big names that had suitors in Europe.Â
The plan was simple. Fill each squad with a few big names and hope that attracts further talent and global media attention. Two key ingredients in building a top five league.
But there is one ingredient that would have made this whole thing much easier for Saudi Arabia. An ingredient they missed out on. Lionel Messi.
Saudi Arabia was willing to throw $400 million per season at Lionel Messi, but the Argentine ultimately chose Inter Miami and MLS.
This decision was not just important because it dealt a blow to Saudi Arabiaâs plans, it also helped establish another contender for a place in the top five leagues. Major League Soccer.Â
MLS has struggled to win over an audience, even within the United States. But just months after Messi arrived, there are positive signs.
Inter Miamiâs Instagram following has grown by 1400% (up to 15m.)
Retailers sold out of 6 monthsâ worth of Inter Miami stock in 24 hours. Demand was 25x higher than estimated.
Subscriptions for the MLS season pass on Apple TV have more than tripled in just a few weeks (from 300k to 1m.)
Both the Saudi Pro League and MLS have followed a similar strategy for the same goal. Raise the profile of the league through expensive and high-profile transfers.Â
2024 should help us see which league has done the best job.
đ„ The Super League Strikes Back
If you are worried about 2024 living up to the drama of 2023, we have some news for you.
The European Court of Justice has just ruled that UEFA and FIFA both acted âunlawfullyâ by blocking the proposed European Super League in 2021. While the ruling does state that UEFA and FIFA had âabused their dominant positionâ by forbidding the creation of any new club competitions, it added that doesnât mean the Super League project has to be approved in the future.
So, what does this mean? Well, it suggests that UEFA and FIFA will be more limited in their powers to stop clubs from forming their own competitions in the future. UEFA claim they have updated their laws to address this, but itâs unclear if they still have the power to block any breakaway. Â
Thatâs probably why the people behind the original Super League have just announced new plans. This includes:
64 teams spread over three tiers labeled: Star, Gold and Blue.Â
No permanent members, with access to the Blue league dependent on league performance.
Minimum of 14 matches per year for each team and all matches free to air on a new streaming service.Â
Itâs important to note that this new league is by no means guaranteed. For a start, it is believed that all of the Premier League teams would be blocked from joining by a new independent regulator that is set to pass laws that block English clubs from joining unapproved competitions. Not to mention that pretty much every top club aside from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have publicly ruled themselves out of joining a new Super League.
There has also been push back from LaLiga and several supporters groups. The Super League will need support from all corners if it is to get off the ground this time.
Something to keep an eye on in 2024.Â
â€ïž This will be our last newsletter of 2023. Everyone at Athletic Interest wants to thank you for all of the support over the last 12 months. Every view, like and comment across our videos and newsletter is appreciated and we hope that 2024 allows us to create even better content for you.
Thank you for all your great content this year!
Thanks for all the newsletters of 2023. Keep up the good work and enjoy the deserved break.