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The Premier League is the most-watched football competition in the world, beamed to 185 countries, raking in millions for its wealthy owners. But this wasn't always the case. I'm old enough to remember the late 1980s, when boggy pitches and crumbling stadiums were the norm, and a live game on TV was so rare it was a Big Deal.

Everything changed in 1992. The chairmen of the 22 First Division teams, tired of having to share their meagre TV rights money with the rest of the Football League's 92 clubs, decided to form a breakaway alliance. After a bidding war between Sky and ITV for the license to broadcast the new competition, Team Murdoch won out in a record £305 million five-year deal. This massive influx of cash allowed Premier League clubs attract the best players and managers from around Europe, turning it into the exciting, high-quality competition it is today. Sky, taking their cue from the NFL, revolutionized the TV coverage of live football, and viewers subscribed in their millions to watch the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea battle it out for the league title.

This book examines the success of the Premier League, primarily from a business point of view. It tells the story of how Manchester United were quicker than anybody else to realise the value of merchandising, selling shirts with "Beckham 7" on the back in all corners of the world. It looks at how Russian oligarchs like Roman Abramovich rolled into town and spent millions to win the title for Chelsea. It also examines less successful ventures, like Randy Lerner's ill-fated bankrolling of Aston Villa, and Hicks & Gillett's tempestuous spell in charge of Liverpool.

Of course the Premier League has had its fair share of characters over the years and there are juicy anecdotes aplenty. Even though I'm a long-suffering Leeds United fan and therefore an arch-rival of all things Man U, I enjoyed the account of how the crafty Alex Ferguson secured the signing of a young Cristiano Ronaldo. And the story of a freshly-minted Manchester City making an accidental �50 million bid for Lionel Messi cracked me up.

It all makes for a fascinating read. It's accessible enough to captivate the casual sports fan, but there is also an impressive level of detail for die-hard football experts to get their teeth into. The Premier League has been a runaway success and the amount of money involved is staggering to comprehend. It makes me wonder how much further it can go, or if the bubble might be close to bursting (for example, what would happen if TV rights money were to decrease even slightly, or if Brexit meant restrictions on signing non-British players?). All I know is, whatever shape or form the league takes over the next few years, I'll be glued to it, and hoping my beloved Leeds make it back to the big time.