Missing out on Champions League football this season has cost Arsenal around £50M ($65.5M), yet the club's CEO Ivan Gazidis "has still been awarded" a near £1M ($1.3M) bonus, according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. Arsenal's financial report for '16-17 shows Gazidis receiving a package of £2.618M ($3.43M), including a whopping £919,000 ($1.2M) bonus, which "consolidated his position in the top three best-paid club administrators in the Premier League." Though Gazidis' salary is "similar to the previous year's," Arsenal has "suffered the serious setback of not playing in Europe's premier club competition for the first time in 20 years and no major commercial deals were signed by the club." An Arsenal spokesperson said, "All wage costs including bonuses are decided by the board" (
DAILY MAIL, 10/5). ESPN.com's Mattias Karen reported despite not qualifying for the Champions League, Arsenal "did win a third FA Cup in four years" after beating Chelsea and "posted a pre-tax profit" of £44.6M ($58.4M) for the financial year. However, Arsenal's fifth-place finish in the Premier League meant the players "missed out on Champions League bonuses, which usually make up a significant portion of their overall salaries" (
ESPN.com, 10/5).
