Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne used data — not an agent — to advocate for his future and a contract extension. It was an unconventional approach, but it paid off. 

De Bruyne, a midfielder who was awarded the Premier League Player of the Season for 2019-20, signed a two-year extension this past week to keep him in Manchester through 2025. 

Terms of the extension have not been disclosed, but the deal exceeds the $350,000 per week De Bruyne received in his previous contract. Juventus captain Cristiano Ronaldo makes $1.07 million in weekly wages, while Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar brings in $721,000. 

To illustrate his value to the club, De Bruyne put together a team of data analysts to study every aspect of his contributions to City and the club’s potential for long-term success. 

“To get the extension now, at my age (29), is a very proud moment because it means they trust me until I get really old,” De Bruyne told The Athletic. 

The Belgian’s urgency to sign an extension stemmed from City’s interest in FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and a low-ball opening offer from the club. The club’s initial reluctance to heavily compensate De Bruyne was due in part to $150 million it lost during the pandemic.

The club’s wage bill is the highest in the English Premier League at $260 million, $16 million more than the next club, Manchester United.

A major online retailer is in talks to go public in a massive SPAC deal.

Signa Sports, a Berlin-based company that recently made inroads into the U.S., is in talks with Yucaipa Acquisition Corp., a SPAC led by Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle, on a deal that would value Signa at $4 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

Signa could acquire U.K.-based competitor Wiggle Ltd. as part of the deal. 

The SPAC, an offshoot of Burkle’s private equity firm Yucaipa Companies, raised $345 million in an IPO in August. 

• Signa sells tennis, cycling, hiking, and other sporting goods across more than 80 online stores.
• The company entered the U.S. market with its February acquisition of Ohio-based tennis equipment online retailer Midwest Sports. 
• Signa grew 30% on average annually over the last three years, and had over $1 billion in gross merchandise volume in its 2020 fiscal year. 

Burkle made waves of a different sort in the sports world a week ago when he got cold feet on supporting Sacramento Republic FC’s promotion to Major League Soccer. The club was counting on Burkle’s assistance to help with the league’s $200 million entrance fee, and possibly a new stadium.

Signa is in talks with other SPACs, as well, and seems intent on going public whether or not the Yucaipa deal goes through.

Investors are betting that you’ll spend more idle moments playing games on your phone.

Mobile gaming company Tripledot Studios raised $78 million in a Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Eldridge, and Access Industries. CEO Lior Shiff said that the money would help Tripledot acquire other gaming studios.

Tripledot, founded in 2017, is best known for simple games like solitaire, blackjack, and the Tetris-like Blocks. The company could hit $100 million in revenue in the next 12 months.

Though not always as attention-grabbing as the major console and PC gaming operations, mobile gaming accounts for a large chunk of the industry’s growth.

• Mobile gaming revenue reached $85 billion globally in 2020 — just over half of total gaming revenues.
• Mobile games meet people where they are: In 2019, phones surpassed television in how much time people spend on them.
• The overall video game sector grew 9.3% in 2020 and is expected to reach $200 billion in revenue by 2023.

Tripledot is less concerned with blowing customers away with new concepts, focusing more on understanding and monetizing their users.

“People are very surprised at our ability to scale evergreen products like solitaire, and this is entirely due to our relentless focus on building a data-driven company,” said chief games officer Eyal Chameides.