Column: Buying a Professional Football Team? 10 Lessons Learned: #5 – cash is king. And it takes a skillfull CFO to make sure you always have cash

Alexander Janssen was involved on the ownership side of two clubs, one in Belgium and the other in Spain, where he learned that the football industry is not only extremely competitive but very, very different to the environment that he used to work in.

As a successful consultant with deep knowledge of turnarounds, he inexplicably experienced a sudden disregard of the discipline and long-term mindset that normally characterised his every move.

Janssen has written ten columns about the insights he gained from being involved with those two clubs. This is the fifth.

As boring as it might sound cash flow management is absolute core in football. As an owner or chief executive you will never find the time to develop a sustainable model and strategy if you spend your time on cash flow problems week after week.