Local rugby league side Salford Red Devils have been ordered to sell players by the RFL in an effort to meet financial sustainability regulations amid speculation over new investment.
The RFL (Rugby Football League) has declared that the Red Devils must reduce their salary cap after already putting them under special measures late last year, as doubts surrounding commercial revenue streams and gaps in their finances led to them being given an advance to cover their costs.
With their books having been under a microscope, the club have now been told they have to trim £800,000 from their total overheads, meaning players must be let go as soon as possible ahead of the new Super League season.
Squad members Marc Sneyd, Tim Lafai, Deon Cross and Kallum Watkins have all been linked with moves away and Salford had already made five new off-season signings; they also revealed that they received offers for players before anyone had to be sold. Safe to say their future is as uncertain as the club’s.
With a group of Australian investors said to be in talks to be brought into the club, it is believed the takeover will happen but sustainability issues must be resolved first. Salford Red Devils have been fan-owned since 2018 but a lot of criticism has been levelled at CEO Paul King in recent years.
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The RFL order to sell players has understandably sparked frustration among an already concerned fan base. Subsequently, the Devils have now shared a lengthy statement responding to reports.
“Over recent months, there has been repeated media speculation on the Club’s financial position”, it begins. “We have purposefully maintained a level of silence since our last statement, not out of avoidance, but out of necessity due to the sensitive nature of our ongoing discussions with potential investors.
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“Our discretion has been to maintain and ensure the integrity of those discussions, bound by Non-Disclosure Agreements, and to protect our Club, players and staff.”
It goes on to explain that the takeover prospects are still alive and well, though many details are still unable to be disclosed. One thing that is clear is that the club must sell players “without delay” in order to fall under the issued sustainability cap of £1.2 million, adding, “Until we reach that, we are now prohibited from registering players for the upcoming season
They also clarified that advance funds were handled solely by the RFL themselves, not misspent or directed to specific areas by the club. Regardless, there is a lot of frustration and disappointment among the supporters, with many simply questioning, “Where has all the money gone?”.
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Another person wrote: “Not one bit of accountability from yourselves, seems like it’s everyone else’s fault. I do hope you survive for your fans, but your club has been mismanaged now for nearly a decade.”
Also the board, which is made up of good people that will be genuinely devastated that on their watch and management the club is going through this.
Salford Community Stadium is also now operated by the City Council as of 13 December 2024 and they are hoping to discuss ways to help it drive revenue soon now the new year is well underway. It is also shared by fellow Super League side, Sale Sharks.
On the other hand, a subsidy grant from the Council was expected to arrive and assist with funding for the year ahead, but it was ultimately deemed to be unavailable back in November, adding yet further financial pressure.
The club go on to add that they “empathise and understand the frustration of our fans and are deeply sorry to reach this position” but for many the worry won’t subside until the takeover is complete.
It is believed that a total of three different bidders had come in to potentially buy the club by the end of last year, but the current consortium is now seemingly waiting for the current setup to remedy the present situation before pulling the trigger.
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Put simply, it’s all a bit messy but the club have assured a light is at the end of the tunnel.
Football Manager 25 has been officially cancelled following delays
Danny Jones
Beloved videogame simulator Football Manager 25 has been officially cancelled following continued delays.
The long-standing game where players take control as virtual managers of football teams has been a mainstay of digital sporting entertainment for more than three decades.
Developed by London-based studio Sports Interactive and published by gaming giants SEGA, the game hasn’t missed a single season since it began life as Championship Manager back in 1992.
However, following two significant delays to this year’s title, Sports Interactive have confirmed that Football Manager 25 has now been cancelled, despite countless pre-orders having already been made.
While the news doesn’t come as a total surprise, with FM25 having first been delayed ahead of its initial November 2024 release date and then moved again to March 2025, many fans would
The statement reads: “Sports Interactive [SI] regret to inform that, following extensive internal discussion and careful consideration with SEGA, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Football Manager 25 and shift our focus to the next release.
“For the large numbers of you who pre-ordered FM25, we thank you enormously for your trust and support – we’re very sorry to have let you down. Please see the FAQs below on obtaining your refund.
“We know this will come as a huge disappointment, especially given that the release date has already moved twice, and you have been eagerly anticipating the first gameplay reveal. We can only apologise for the time it has taken to communicate this decision.
“Due to stakeholder compliance, including legal and financial regulations, today was the earliest date that we could issue this statement.”
Insisting that they pride themselves on “delivering the best value for money games that bring you countless hours of enjoyment”, they simply didn’t feel like they were able to release the latest FM title to a good enough standard in its current state following playtesting.
They go on to add that ahead of working on this, the studio undertook the “biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation, laying the building blocks for a new era”, hence why the significant delays. The news has been met with mixed reactions, to say the least.
Don’t worry only gotta wait till November!!! Only in February FFS
— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) February 7, 2025
You can read the statement in full HERE, in which they also rationalise that it simply no longer made sense or felt fair to expect people to buy FM25 when it was ready only to purchase the next instalment later in the year.
Fortunately, with regular updates as well as community mods and patches to the current Football Manager (FM24 was released back in November 2023), loyal fans have been more understanding about the delays and now the cancellation.
SI signed off by stating: “Through the cancellation, every effort is now focused on ensuring that our next release achieves our goal and hits the quality level we all expect. We will update you on how we are progressing with that as soon as we are able to do so.
“Thank you for reading, your patience and your continued support. Our full focus now returns to creating a new era for Football Manager.”
Lighting a candle for the people who collect a physical copy of every Football Manager, with no FM25 their collections will be ruined forever. pic.twitter.com/M1S5LiLJtQ
Salford Red Devils confirm new owners after completing takeover
Danny Jones
The takeover of Salford Red Devils has officially been completed with the club revealing their new owners this week.
Confirming a full change of ownership on Friday, 7 February, the Greater Manchester rugby league side has handed over 100% control to an investment bank.
Pending full ratification from the Rugby Football League (RFL), news of the buyout couldn’t have come at a better time as the Red Devils prepare to get their season underway in just a week’s time.
Sharing a lengthy statement on the club site, they informed supporters of the decision “that secures the future of the club.”
The update explains that following extensive talks with stakeholders, the Community Benefit Society (CBS) and Salford City Council, the purchase of the Super League rugby club has been approved.
It has now been revealed that Salford has been taken over by a group of investors led by businessman Dario Berta, a Swiss banking insider, former director of the global UBS financial group and now CEO of Matanel, which specialises in real estate.
The update goes on to detail that Chris Irwin, the former Chief Commercial Officer at Salford Red Devils and more recently Exeter City Football Club, has rejoined the club as the new Chief Executive Officer.
Most importantly for Salford Red Devils, Berta and co.’s first act following the takeover was to clear all of the club’s debts and put forward “additional significant investment for future growth.”
This will be music to fans’ ears, no doubt, especially given the less-than-ideal order handed down by the RFL given the state of Salford’s books and recently enacted financial regulations.
The process of recruiting a new internal management structure is already said to be underway ahead of the final green light to the new owners, though it is understood to be merely a formality at this stage.
CEO Irwin is said to have met with Paul Rowley, Kurt Haggerty and the current men’s first-team squad at the Salford Community Stadium in Eccles on Friday morning ahead of training.
Although squad reinforcement is inevitable as part of the investment, the statement goes on to clarify that “there will be a selection restriction for this weekend’s Challenge Cup Third Round fixture against the Midlands Hurricanes” but will be lifted ahead of their 2025 season opener.
Significant funds will also be allocated towards stadium redevelopment and the wider club infrastructure. New owner Berta went on to state: “This is the start of a very bright and successful future for Salford…
“I’m very proud to be involved, and with Chris at the helm, I feel like we have the perfect opportunity to build something special. Our focus and dedication now is to work together with stakeholders and fans to build sustainable success on and off the pitch for the long term.”
Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, added: “I’m very happy to welcome Dario Berta to Salford and look forward to working closely together to see an exciting future for Salford Red Devils, building on the successes of the last five years.”
The Red Devils are set to get their new domestic campaign underway against St Helens in their Super League opener on Saturday, 15 February.
Meanwhile, international rugby has returned to our screens and Manchester city centre has plenty of places to watch every second of the action.