Man City's $1B Headache Continues Growing

US prosecutors named Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour a co-conspirator in the $4.5B looting of Malaysia's state investment fund, but never charged him.

Documents seen by sports outlet The Athletic show over $160M from a fraud-linked account went toward building his 482ft superyacht, the Topaz.

Last month, an independent panel ruled City overstated its finances by around $1B, partly using owner money disguised as sponsorship; City is appealing.

Ronaldo, 41, earns mostly from playing, with $250M from Saudi club Al Nassr versus $50M from endorsements and businesses.

Messi, 39, earns more off the field, with $75M from brand deals and businesses versus $70M from US club Inter Miami.

Their combined $445M is nearly half the $942M that business magazine Forbes projects the 10 best-paid soccer players will earn this season.

The agency hired two former executives who produced the last seven FIFA World Cups to lead the new unit, Relevent Media Services.

Based in Geneva, the division will manage live event broadcasts for sports leagues and streaming platforms without buying its own camera equipment.

This move helps Relevent deepen ties with major clients like European soccer body UEFA, which generates over $5B in annual media and sponsorship revenue.

Foot Locker, a major footwear retailer, will feature its brand in the arena and on the team app for the New York Knicks.

Madison Square Garden Sports, the team's ownership group, needs this sponsorship money to offset rising player costs and declining local television revenues.

The sports group hopes these premium deals will help double its current $7.7M earnings to reach projected profits of $16M by 2029.

An advanced android recently ran a 100m dash in 9.39 seconds at a Beijing event, beating Usain Bolt’s human world record.

University sports experts predict these autonomous machines will generate major revenue streams through global ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, and heavy sports betting.

Marketers believe fans will form strong emotional connections with these mechanical competitors, similar to how audiences bond with popular fictional movie characters.

The US-based racing series reached a multi-year agreement to compete at a Barcelona track starting in July 2027.

The 2027 event will be the championship's first race in Spain and its first outside North America since 2013.

Organizers aim to drive ticket sales by capitalizing on the local popularity of Spanish driver Alex Palou.

The basketball league is launching an artificial intelligence tool called Ask NBA to answer fan questions using decades of data.

Partnering with cloud provider Amazon Web Services, the app will now generate real-time game summaries and explain complex player stats.

These updates aim to keep fans engaged directly on the official platform instead of using outside websites to find information.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority will prohibit licensed betting firms from using famous athletes and internet influencers in promotional campaigns by 2027.

The new rule targets the persuasive power of fame to protect consumers, following a recent $1M penalty against a company for aggressive marketing.

Live horse racing broadcasts are exempt, but regulators will judge a digital creator's legality based on their reputation and ability to sway audiences.