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Brentford spending money smartly

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire reviews Brentford's 2020/21 accounts published as club promoted to Premier League.  Key numbers:  Income £15m (up 10%) Wages £41m (up 60% & incliding £12m promotion bonus).  Wages £270 for every £100 of income loss pre player sales of £53m Player sale profits £44m. Pre tax loss £8m, easily within FFP limits.

Matchday income down 95% to £0.2m due to Covid, otherwise would have been a record sum due to new splendid stadium.

Broadcast income up 47% to £10.7m due to iFollow passes. Expect to add another zero to the total for 2021/22.  Commercial income was up 26% to £4.5m but again expect a big rise in first PL season 2021/22.

Brentford wage bill hits £41m, of which £12m was promotion to PL bonuses. Wages were £270 for every £100 of income, which is an EFL record, but ignores Brentford's amazing player development model.  Brentford continue to buy, develop and sell.

As a result losses before player sales over £1m a week, and have totalled £197m since 2013. However Brentford's data driven recruitment model has generated £141m of player profits during the same nine seasons so well within FFP.

Since Brentford were promoted to the Championship in 2014 they have spent £95m on players and generated sales of £151m, shows that spending it smartly makes more sense than just spending it.

Maguire notes: 'Despite Covid meaning no gate receipts and also not having benefit of parachute payments, Brentford had the lowest losses of any club promoted in the last five seasons.'


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