4 weeks agoLatest NewsComments Off on Chelsea officially have the most expensive squad in history as Man Utd overtaken by fierce rivals in shirt sales
MANCHESTER City have the second highest wage bill in world football.
Yet shirt sales are lower than the rest of the Prem Big Six suggest Pep Guardiola’s men earn trophies and money – but have not won over hearts and minds.
GettyChelsea have the most expensive squad in the history of football[/caption]
RexManchester United collect £122.6million in merchandise sales[/caption]
GettyManchester City have the largest wage bill in the world[/caption]
Uefa’s latest statistical run-down of the European game found City’s wage bill of £466m last season was behind only PSG, who laid out £553m in 2023-24.
City’s squad cost £1.09bn to put together, a figure only exceeded by the £1.39bn cost of assembling the Chelsea squad that finished sixth in the Prem under Mauricio Pochettino.
The West London side has still failed to challenge at the top of the Prem this year.
The club has struggled to keep pace with the race for Champions League qualification.
According to the European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report: “Chelsea FC’s squad at the end of the club’s 2024 financial year was officially the most expensive ever assembled, with a combined transfer cost of £1.39bn.
“This comfortably surpassed the value of the Real Madrid squad of 2020, which cost £1.12bn.”
City have been the dominant force in English football for the past decade, winning seven of the last 11 Prem crowns, eight domestic cups and the Champions League in that period.
It has seen them rise from commercial revenues of just £23m in 2009 to 349m last season – a stunning rise of more than 1500 per cent.
But despite that, City’s shirt and merchandising income, which Uefa describe as “a proxy for each individual club’s global fan base” was only the 11th highest in Europe.
City made £63.8m through replica kit and other club-branded sales, barely half the £123m earned by both Liverpool and Manchester United – and way below the £164.6m grossed by Real Madrid.
GettyMan City have released four shirts this season to boost shirt sales[/caption]
SplashLiverpool have made the most money in merchandising in the Premier League[/caption]
The Cityzens have released four kits this season with the traditional home, away and goalkeeper jerseys.
4 weeks agoLatest NewsComments Off on Mickey 17 review: Robert Pattinson shines in this darkly comedic sci-fi – but ambitious plot is a little overstuffed
MICKEY 17
(15) 139mins
★★★★☆
HE’S a master of the cinematic curveball – and now Bong Joon Ho is at it again.
The genius director behind 2019’s multi-award-winning Parasite returns with Mickey 17, again proving his knack for blending sharp social commentary with dark humour to tackle some rather pressing issues.
PARobert Pattinson’s Mickey Barnes braves a frozen alien world, where death is just the beginning[/caption]
Based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, the film stars Twilight heart-throb Robert Pattinson alongside Naomi Ackie (last seen in mind-bending horror flick Blink Twice).
Aussie acting legend Toni Collette and MCU star Mark Ruffalo also lend their weight.
Comedic farce
Set on a faraway, frozen and hostile planet, the story follows Mickey Barnes (Pattinson), a disposable worker sent on dangerous, often fatal, missions for a human colony trying to establish itself in alien territory populated by giant insect-like beings.
Whenever one version of Mickey dies, a new clone with the same memories and lived experiences, takes his place.
When Mickey 17, presumed dead, returns to find Mickey 18 already living his life, the story spirals into a darkly comedic farce and exploration of what it actually means to be a human being.
Pattinson shines, capturing Mickey’s mix of resigned sarcasm and quiet desperation.
Ackie, as security agent Nasha Barridge, who also happens to be Mickey’s love interest, is once again brilliant.
Ruffalo goes all in as Kenneth Marshall, a blustering wannabe dictator with Trumpian vibes.
Collette knocks it out of the park as his doting wife — and the real brains behind his totalitarian vision.
But Mickey 17 isn’t just some straightforward political satire. Bong Joon Ho also explores what actually makes someone human.
Visually, Mickey 17 is stunning, with the team behind it creating a world that’s both hauntingly beautiful and terrifyingly eerie.
And while the film’s ambition occasionally makes it feel a bit overstuffed, its sheer creativity and emotional depth keep it grounded.
It doesn’t quite match the flawless precision of Parasite, but Mickey 17 is still bold and engaging.
It’s a smart, weird and surprisingly heartfelt ride that proves Bong Joon Ho is just as comfortable in space as he is on Earth.
Linda Marric
MARCHING POWDER
(18) 96mins
★★★☆☆
PAAnyone hoping Marching Powder is a sequel to Dyer’s gritty 2004 film The Football Factory will be disappointed[/caption]
IF there really is a war on woke, Marching Powder isn’t a footsoldier it’s a take-no-prisoners black-ops unit going behind enemy lines.
Danny Dyer plays ageing football hooligan Jack Jones who is given one last chance to turn his life around by a judge after getting into a brawl.
But having been tasked with looking after one-man crime wave Kenny Boy (Calum MacNab) and having mates who encourage him to take drugs, Jack can’t keep out of trouble.
That’s a problem for his wife Dani (Stephanie Leonidas) who is tempted by a right-on arts teacher.
It’s the brilliant Stephanie who steals the show, with her delivery of put downs such as Jack would “rather give his cocaine to the homeless” than attend couple’s counselling.
When Dani and Jack are exchanging C-word barbs the film is laugh-out-loud funny.
But director Nick Love seems to be going out of his way to offend, such as the repeated slurs about people with disabilities. And the hooligans are characters we’ve seen in many movies.
PASinger SZA and Keke Palmer bring buddy-movie magic in Syreeta Singleton’s riotous debut[/caption]
POP star SZA and Keke Palmer are buddy-movie gold in a riotous comedy from first-time feature film writer Syreeta Singleton.
They play Alyssa and Dreux, best friends sharing a dilapidated LA apartment and generally failing at being responsible adults.
Dealing with leaky pipes, dodgy electrics and a nightmare landlord, they are now also facing eviction.
Their rent money has vanished, thanks to Alyssa’s useless boyfriend, Keshawn (Joshua David Neal), and landlord Uche (Rizi Timane) is giving them until 6pm to pay up or leave.
The best friends are also being chased around town by Keshawn’s unhinged new love, Berniece (Aziza Scott).
What ensues is a hilarious race against time, with every attempt to raise the cash going spectacularly wrong.
The leads are both brilliant with SZA’s Alyssa a whirlwind of sass and desperation, while Palmer’s Dreux is calm and collected, until she’s not.
Comedy legend Katt Williams shines as streetwise soothsayer Lucky, while Maude Apatow’s Bethany brings social commentary as the new neighbour.
A self-aware comedy with more depth than expected.
Linda Marric
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