Moyes Ready For French Kiss!

One man's loss, another's gain, after being starved of success, French clubs had hoped they would be revitalised by an unprecedented TV rights deal worth more than €1.15bn per year (€814m a year from Mediapro and €330m from BeIN Sports). It was the second largest TV deal in Europe, but hopes finally disappeared this week, pushing French football to the brink of financial ruin.

As with every situation of this sort there are winners and losers, in this instance West Ham, along with a host of other Barclays Premier League teams, will be looking at the French market to pick up bargains! To put the circumstances in perspective, the numbers were huge, with clubs bringing in 60% more money in TV rights, the price was completely unreasonable, making it impossible to work unless there was a massive take up in viewing subscriptions. The first instalment was paid, however, when their second instalment was due in October, Mediapro asked to defer the payment and their CEO, Jaume Roures, admitted that they were trying to renegotiate the deal. “It’s obvious that Covid is affecting a lot of aspects of our being able to exploit our rights.” said Roures. “We want to renegotiate the contract for this season. We are not questioning the project as it is, but the bars and restaurants are closed, advertising is down.” L’Équipe reported that Mediapro wanted a 25% discount for the season, while RTL claimed that the LFP were hoping to replace Mediapro.

The surprise cancellation of the Ligue 1 season seemed to have arisen due to a misunderstanding by the French government. In October, multiple Ligue 1 club presidents told Get French Football News that one of their main motivations for not finishing the 2019-20 campaign was to protect the new Mediapro deal, harming their relationship with Canal Plus in the process. Canal Plus are now negotiating to take over the rights, but they intend to offer a sum below €700m per season – less than they paid before the arrival of Mediapro. French football’s crisis is far from over, Canal are playing hardball over the deal, leaving some clubs worried about going bankrupt.
One other ramification of the financial losses French football is currently experiencing, is that any hope of selling Sebastien Haller to Monaco or Rennes, as had been mooted, are now extinguished! Of course the flip side is that there are now bargains to be had, problem is most English clubs are broke and in debt, but not as broke and in debt as those in France!

This January the transfers taking place will be like those of no other season, with some clubs who are really close to the wall having to accept offers for their players that they would have considered 'insulting' just 12 months ago! Hammers' glaring need for a striker must be addressed, as should the need for an additional full back and an additional midfielder.

France's misfortune might be just the fillip West Ham were looking for, in that there is a 'clear and present' opportunity to 'paper over' the gaps in Moyes' wafer thin squad WITHOUT breaking the bank, or in other words, a realistic opportunity to claw back some of the fiscal loss caused by the profligate signings of Felipe Anderson and Sebastien Haller! - Ed