European soccer clubs may soon get some financial breathing room in the form of a $7.1 billion relief package from the Union of European Football Associations.

UEFA is working on a set of measures and reforms that would not just help teams recover from the pandemic revenue hit, but restructure the financial system of European soccer.

The continent’s governing soccer body is seeking to ease the pain of future financial shocks while creating more parity among teams.

• UEFA would establish a credit facility of $2.4 billion to $7.1 billion, which clubs could borrow from at a low rate. 
• The period that clubs could restructure existing debt would lengthen to five-to-seven years.
• UEFA would introduce a luxury tax on teams whose player salaries exceeded a certain percentage of revenue, possibly 70%. Funds collected from the tax would be redistributed to other clubs. 

The reform package is expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks. UEFA has been in talks with investment firm Centricus Asset Management on financing the credit facility.

The European soccer market fell to $29.7 billion in the 2019-2020 season, a 13% drop from the previous season according to Deloitte. It was also the first time in history that the Premier League’s revenue declined.

Serie A may be selling a stake in its new media arm after all.

It’s been almost a year since the league initially agreed to enter exclusive talks with a consortium including CVC Capital Partners, Advent International, and Italian fund FSI, which offered $2 billion for a 10% stake in a unit managing Serie A’s media business. 

That plan was derailed in February when seven clubs banded together to block the sale — it needed approval from 14 of the 20 teams.

The Serie A board met Friday to informally restart discussions about the sale, just days after CVC invested $2.5 billion in Spain’s La Liga. Thirty-eight of the league’s 42 teams voted in favor of that deal.

Serie A’s president, Paolo Dal Pino, comes from a media background and told Bloomberg he believes a modern media strategy will generate more revenue.

• On Thursday, it was revealed that Serie A is considering livestreaming some matches on YouTube in the Middle East and North Africa, the main TV international package that has yet to be sold for the league.
• In March, CBS acquired U.S. streaming rights to Serie A and Coppa Italia for $75 million per year.

Like many of Europe’s leagues, Serie A was heavily affected by the pandemic, with losses nearing $1 billion. Selling an equity stake could be the first step to reversing its “unsustainable” financial situation.

Rockstar Games is remastering three classic “Grand Theft Auto” titles for PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and the Nintendo Switch, according to a report from Kotaku. 

The trilogy appears to include “GTA III,” “GTA: Vice City,” and “GTA: San Andreas,” and could hit the market around October or November. All three games would be available in one digital package. PC and mobile ports may arrive next year.

It’s no surprise Rockstar continues to retool and upgrade its breadwinning franchise.

• “GTA V” has sold more than 150 million units since its 2013 release. 
• The title reported its best sales year to date in 2020, moving 20 million units. 
• The entire “GTA” franchise has sold roughly 350 million units over its lifetime. 

Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, reported $813 million in revenue in Q1 2022, beating estimates of $730-$780 million. 

The strong quarter was driven by recurrent consumer spending, which accounted for 70% of total revenue.

Take-Two is also home to 2K, the publisher of hit franchises like NBA 2K and Borderlands. The company plans to release a whopping 62 new titles across its 2K and Rockstar properties by March 2024.