There's always a business motivation, and it's not just PR.
Premier League clubs make more off television money than anyone else in the world, but they have some of the world's most expensive tickets. This is a contentious issue in English football, where long-time working class fans have been priced out of the game. West Ham is the first club to make a change.
On Tuesday, West Ham announced that they would be the first club to cut ticket prices as a result of the Premier League's TV money increase. Their cheapest season ticket will cost £289 in the 2016-17 season, down from £620 this year.
But they're not just doing this to be nice. That's also the year that West Ham moves to the Olympic Stadium, which will have 15,000 more seats than their current ground. West Ham are actually raising ticket prices for next season before cutting them drastically.
And why are they doing that? Because they wouldn't sell out the Olympic Stadium at current prices. They'll sell out Upton Park at a 5 percent increase on current prices. This isn't about giving back to fans or becoming less greedy. It's just business as usual.
In the news
FC Porto fans waited for their team at the airport to cheer them, despite their heavy loss at Bayern. (Mais Futebol)
Martin Skrtel will be staying at Liverpool. (ESPN FC)
Rafa Benitez says he's had no contact with Manchester City. (Guardian)
The agent for Mattia Destro, who is in poor form, says AC Milan, who will have a new owner shortly, are too modest for his client. (Football Italia)
NYCFC's Tony Taylor is out for the season. (MLS)
Wolfsburg are punting on Europa League. They're not bringing Kevin de Bruyne or Andre Schürrle to Napoli. (Bundesliga)
Andres Iniesta: "Has the old Iniesta returned? I never left." (AS)
You should be reading
Iain Macintosh on supporters needing to come together to fight unfair ticket pricing. (The Set Pieces)
Miriti Murungi on Beitar Jerusalem, who are totally fine with being really racist. (Soccer Gods)
Michael Cox on Pep Guardiola's change of tactics on Tuesday. (Guardian)
Fun with transfer rumors
The section in which nothing should be taken seriously.
Hugo Lloris is ready to leave Spurs to play Champions League football. (Guardian)
Real Madrid are shying away from David De Gea to go after ... Asmir Begovic? Okay. (Express)
If Manchester City want Jay Rodriguez, who hasn't played since blowing out his knee a year ago, it's going to cost them £20m. (Manchester Evening News)
Tuesday's games
Neymar was the star of Barca's win over PSG.
Bayern Munich just absolutely trucked Porto.
You can watch Copa Libertadores highlights here. (FootballManiaChannel)
What to watch on Wednesday (click for listings, all times ET)
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid (2:45 p.m.) - Los Merengues have been decimated by injuries.
Monaco vs. Juventus (2:45 p.m.) - Juve have a one-goal lead and are favorites to hold it.
Five Copa Libertadores games (from 4:30 p.m.) - The best games are the two Group 1 matches at 6:45 p.m., where all four teams are still alive and no one has clinched.
Club America vs. Montreal Impact (9 p.m.) - The first leg of the CCL final.
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1EbtjEJ
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