The Political Economy of Football V2

Nottingham Forest lost £45m in 2021/22 in the Championship, £20m promotion related expenses included in the total.   Forest total losses are now £248 million over the years. Forest owner put in £41m cash in new shares in 21/22. Forest paid £201 in wages for every £100 in revenue.   This is high even for the Championship.   Promotion bonuses were almost £21m. Forest bought players for almost £12m and had sales of £14m.

Everton had a pre-tax loss of £45m in 2021/22, reports Kieran Maguire.  Everton total losses are now £468 million. Farhad Moshiri put in £229m in 21/22 and club borrowed £50m. £210m spent on new stadium and £86m in transfer instalments. Auditors report refers to a ‘material uncertainty over going concern’. Staff payoffs over £10m.    Revenue down compared to previous season due to fewer games played and lower merit payments. Wages £90 for every £100 of income. The club is at risk of a points deduction this season after Premier League tell rival clubs disciplinary hearing could be concluded in next two months. Six clubs have written to PL demanding transparency and an expedited process.

Last season’s £30m pre-tax profit is the highest in the Brentford’s history, though Cliff Crown cautioned “in a deteriorating economic environment in which higher salary and overhead costs remain essential to our retaining Premier League status, this financial performance will be difficult to repeat.” Combining fine sporting results with good financial performance is nothing new to Brentford, as seen by the very small loss achieved in the promotion season. Most clubs promoted from the Championship suffer massive losses, as they really “go for it” in pursuit of the “promised land”, but this was not the case for the Bees, who only lost £9m. This is only the second time that Brentford have posted a profit in the last 10 years, though they have managed to keep the size of their losses relatively small, which is no mean feat in the highly competitive Championship, especially given the club’s low turnover. The £24m profit reported in 2018/19 was boosted by £14m from the sale of land to...

Shrewsbury Town cut their pre-tax losses from £1.46m to just over £180,000 in 2021/22 and saw turnover increase by £2.1m.   The club is also debt free.  These are good financial results for League One:  https://www.shropshirestar.com/sport/football/shrewsbury-town-fc/2023/03/31/shrewsbury-town-accounts-reveal-21-million-turnover-increase/ A full explanatory report from a supporter is here:  https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shrewsburytown.com%2Fsiteassets%2Fdocuments%2F2223%2Fstfc-accounts-june-2022-at-report.docx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Relegation threatened Torquay United lost almost £1.2 million in 21/22 and have made total losses exceeding £5 million.   Torquay are mainly funded by loan from parent company and owner. Aldershot Town lost £233k in 2021/22.   Aldershot took out £384k of loans in 21/22.

Leyton Orient lost £2.3m in 21/22, marginally lower than previous season, despite a big increase in turnover to £5.6m following the end of lockdown. Leyton Orient have cash in the bank but total losses over time are now almost £17 million. Leyton Orient’s losses are underwritten by its parent company who has lent almost £12m interest free.

Manchester United results for six months to 31 December 2022. Revenue was the same as 2021 despite not being in Champions League. Wage bill down 20% due to not being in Champions League.  Losses £25m over period. Total losses over the years now £189 million.   Total borrowings a record £741 million.   Manchester United borrowed £100m in six months to 31 December 2022 and paid £129m in transfer instalments. Club spent £67m more cash than it generated from day to day activities.

Out of the 13 London clubs, only one has never moved home. Chelsea.   The stadium is the most significant issue facing the club.  Its size constrains revenues and Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham have all moved to new stadiums. Having a gleaming new 60,000-seater stadium is not simply about the additional £50 million-plus from ticket revenue a season, or the extra spend on merchandise, but also attracting players, commercial partners, other sports and concerts.  Chelsea are “exploring options” on the stadium, and are not committing to anything until fully establishing the time and cost of all possibilities, but they hope to have a sense of preference on Stamford Bridge or Earl’s Court later this year, ideally over the summer. Boehly has already shown himself keen to listen to supporters. The club have kept in close touch with Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), which owns the Stamford Bridge pitch, Todd Boehly initially signalled the new owners’ intent to r...

Fleetwood Town lost £1.65 million in 2021/22, taking total losses to almost £25 million, reports Kieran Maguire. Fleetwood bought players for £110k in 21/22. Fleetwood are funded by other parts of owner Andy Pilley’s empire, owing over £24 million to group companies.

After adjusting for player sales, one off transactions and interest costs Brentford had second highest profit before tax in the Premier League last season, reports Kieran Maguire.    Turnover was up 708%, mainly due to promotion to Premier League and a small impact of end of Covid. Turnover £141m, more than the previous 15 seasons added together .Wages £68m, lowest in Premier League.   Profits £30m. Transfer spend £40m.   Borrowings down to £39m.     As a result of cost control Brentford made a day to day profit of £25m, highest in the Premier League and first profit for a long time.   Matchday up on end of lockdown and boosted by new stadium move which tripled previous record.    Success on pitch meant almost £115m, 80% of total of revenue, from broadcast.   Commercial income almost tripled on back of new stadium and FOS deals in Premier League, but still low by Premier League   standards. Wages are biggest cost, but B...

The European Commission is holding up Italy's recovery cash over disagreement about the eligibility of certain investments — including two sports stadiums. Italy, the EU post-pandemic recovery fund’s largest beneficiary with over €190 billion allocated, is a bellwether for its success, and so is being closely watched. The Rome government wants to use some of the cash, designed to help boost Europe's economies after COVID, to upgrade Fiorentina's 1930s football stadium and to build a new one near Venice. Upgrading Florence football stadium is Mayor Dario Nardella’s pet project. He secured €95 million in EU and national funds to refurbish the old and now dilapidated Artemio Franchi venue, home of Fiorentina. The stadium, built in the early 1930s, is considered a “major national cultural infrastructure.”  It is used on the pages of Italian passports.   In 2021 it was declared a protected landmark. The reinforced concrete stadium, owned by the city of Florence...

Cardiff’s pre-tax loss more than doubled from £11.2m to £26.6m. Revenue fell by nearly two-thirds (£35m) from £55m to £20m, due to the cessation of parachute payments from the Premier League.  This was only partially compensated by cutting operating expenses by £18m (27%) and profit from player sales slightly increasing by £1.4m to £4.2m.  Cardiff’s £26.6m pre-tax loss is one of the largest reported to date in the 2021/22 Championship, only surpassed by Bournemouth £55.5m and Bristol City £28.5m. Very few clubs make money in this incredibly competitive league which arguably has the craziest finances in football.    £153m in parachute payments over the years have arguably been wasted. In the 12 years since Vincent Tan bought Cardiff City in May 2010, the club has accumulated £181m of losses, including £50m in the last three years alone. During that period the club has only made two (small) profits, £4m in 2015 and £3m in 2019. They even contrived to lose £12m in t...

Darlington lost £183k in 21/22, compared to a profit the previous season, although this was mainly due to a huge amount of ‘miscellaneous income’, reports Kieran Maguire. Wage costs were almost £500k.  This is in the National League North. Darlington have made total losses over the years of £887k. These have been funded by share issues and loans. Club has large amount of cash.   Darlington have loans of almost £500k but some of these were converted into shares since end of season. Darlington spent £25k buying players in 21/22.

Brighton swung from a £53m pre-tax loss to £24m profit, a significant £77m improvement, mainly due to profit from player sales shooting up from £7m to £62m, though revenue also rose £28m (20%) from £146m to a club record £174m. Brighton’s £24m profit is the second best financial performance to date in the Premier League, only surpassed by Manchester City’s £42m. This is indeed impressive, especially as some clubs reported substantial losses last season, including Manchester United £150m, Leicester City £92m and Tottenham £61m. This is only the second time that Brighton have posted a profit in the last decade, with the £24m surplus comfortably beating the previous record of £12m in the first season following promotion to the top flight.  Despite last season’s profit, Brighton’s total losses since promotion still add up to £106m. Brighton spent £70m on player purchases in 2021/22, which was more than twice as much as the previous season’s £31m, and the second highest in the clu...

Do Spurs have fundamental structural and cultural problems that stop them winning trophies, regardless of who the manager is?  The idea that Tottenham prioritise profits over sporting success is a central argument of the ‘ENIC Out’ brigade. Is it a fair one? That likely depends on your perspective. On one hand, Spurs have spent hundreds of millions of pounds in the past few years on transfers and last summer backed their head coach in a way they had never done previously. It’s hard to say a club don’t invest in the playing side when they have spent £60 million ($73.4m today) on a player in Richarlison who wasn’t even going to be an automatic starter. On the other hand, owner ENIC’s critics say Spurs have stood still because they passed up opportunities to sign players who would have taken them to the next level — most pertinently during the Pochettino years when the hierarchy prioritised the stadium rebuild at the expense of squad additions when the team were coming agonisingly...

Chelsea have announced their financial results for 2021/22, making a loss of £121.3m:  https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/chelsea-fc-2021-22-financial-results Chelsea have blamed sanctions on Roman Abramovich for the scale of the losses:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11906663/Chelsea-blame-sanctions-Roman-Abramovich-121m-loss-annual-accounts.html Football finance guru Kieran Maguire comments: ' This gives 3 year rolling loss of £283 million until 30 June 2022. Then can deduct infrastructure (say £10m a year) women's team (£5m a year) academy (£15m a year) and Community (£3m). Takes P&S loss to £184m. Covid costs are about £127m so reduces loss to £57m, well within [FFP] limit.'

It’s been almost six months since the Glazers said they would explore a sale of Manchester United, the football club owned by the Floridian family since 2005. Two suitors have emerged so far: UK chemicals billionaire  Jim Ratcliffe  and  Sheikh Jassim , the son of one of Qatar’s richest men. Ratcliffe submitted his second bid — putting a value on the club above £5bn — on Thursday evening. But supporters are still worried that the Glazers won’t sell up in full, and are instead planning to extend a stay that has been protested from day one. Many are still angry at the amount of debt put on the club to fund the original takeover, as well as fading fortunes on the pitch. If the Glazers want to remain in charge, they will have plenty of options. A number of US investment firms, including  Elliott Management , are keeping a watchful eye on the process in case an opportunity arises. The Glazer siblings could opt to sell a slice of the business, leaving som...

Rotherham’s 21/22 accounts show revenue down 19% due to relegation previous season. Wages were down 19% due to relegation clauses.  Losses up 94% to £1.7m.  Player signings £825k. Player sales £1,225k. Rotherham owe £2.2m to EFL for COVID loan used to pay PAYE during lockdown which is interest free. Rotherham could receive up to £600k in add ons from player sales. Club earns £1m in sponsorship from owner Tony Stewart company and pays £1m in rent to another of his companies. Broadcasting money previous (lockdown impacted) season was 65% of total. This was down by £5m despite parachute payments but will rise again in 22/23 due to return to Championship.

Bournemouth lost £55 million in the Championship in 21/22 despite parachute payments, reports Kieran Maguire.  Bournemouth total losses over the years now £169 million. Bournemouth spent £19m cash more than the club generated from day to day activities. Cash flows from player trading broadly neutral. Borrowed net £17m from owners and Macquarie during the year to cover operational needs. Parachutes were almost £38m, EFL tv money almost £5m. Fans returning from lockdown   increased matchday by £5m but overall income down £18m due to reduced parachutes and technical reasons. Staff costs higher than previous season due to promotion bonuses. Wages £115 for every £100 of revenue.    Player purchases £22m, player sales £24m Interest costs £150k a week.    Bournemouth owe the British Virgin Islands holding company £164 million. Since the year end club has been taken over. Club owes new owners £90m and has borrowed a further £30m elsewhere. Player purchase...

Recycling supremo Marc Spiegel has said that his takeover of Charlton is on track and he has not lost any financial backing:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/marc-spiegel-issues-statement-to-address-social-media-comments-takeover-process-is-proceeding-well/

Harrogate Town lost £1.2m in their second season in the EFL, up from £1m in the first, reports Kieran Maguire. Harrogate Town appear to have a squad that has not cost anything and are reliant on owner Irving Weaver, father of manager Simon Weaver, to fund the losses. Weaver has put in £4.4m in interest free loans to date and has indicated he will continue to support club financially. Staff numbers are up following end of lockdown. Harrogate spent £600k on infrastructure assets in 21/22, including almost £400k on property.

Brighton and Hove Albion have published their latest accounts.  Revenue up £29m to record £174m Day to day losses £32m but White and Burn sales convert this to £24m profit. Wages were 2nd lowest in PL but finished 9 th .   Net transfer spend £1m Tony Bloom total investment £499m Potter compensation £21.5m. Player sales significant but only £25m cash received as deals on instalments. Bloom lent club £70m which allowed it to repay bank loan.   Player trading purchases £69m sales £68m. Revenue up over £28m due to fans returning from lockdown (£20m) Higher broadcasting money linked to finishing 9th (2021 figures artificially high as 44 PL matches in year to 30/6/21) Commercial income almost doubled following lockdown end. Owner Tony Bloom is owed £406m and has over £90m of shares.

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the 2021/22 accounts of Stoke City:  https://swissramble.substack.com/p/stoke-city-finances-202122 Stoke swung from a £10m pre-tax loss to a £102m profit, though this was driven by the owners of the club forgiving £120m of historic debts that had been accumulated in support of investment into the club. Following four consecutive years of losses, this is the first time that Stoke have reported a profit since 2017. As a rule, they managed to make (small) profits when in the Premier league. Stoke’s profit from player sales increased from just £0.9m to £10.9m, mainly from Nathan Collins to Burnley and Sam Surridge to Nottingham Forest.   This is actually the highest in 2021/22 for those clubs that have so far published accounts, as the impact of COVID has resulted in a depressed transfer market, especially at the Championship level.   Since relegation from the Premier League, Stoke’s revenue has dropped by £96m (75%) from £127m in ...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the latest accounts of Wolverhampton Wanderers:  https://swissramble.substack.com/p/wolverhampton-wanderers-finances Wolves’ £46m pre-tax loss is obviously not great, but it was by no means the worst financial result in the Premier League in 2021/22, as even larger losses have been reported by Manchester United £150m, Leicester City £92m and Tottenham £61m. Wolves £15m profit from player sales in 2021/22 was much lower than the prior season’s £61m, but this was more in line with their normal performance, as they only made £63m profit combined in the eight years between 2013 and 2020. This season will be better after the sales of Morgan Gibbs-White to Nottingham Forest, Leander Dendocker to Aston Villa and Ruben Vinaigre to Sporting. The exact amount of Gibbs-White’s deal has not been disclosed, but most reports have the fee as £25m plus a potential £17m add-ons. Wolves’ gross financial debt increased by £57m from £61m to £118m, mainly a ...

Northampton Town made a £949k loss on day to day activities but player sales reduced this to just £148k, reports Kieran Maguire.   Total losses over the years are over £8m and underwritten by shares and owner loans. Northampton did not sign players for any fees in 21/22 and total squad cost £26k. Northampton owe over £5m to Belle De Jour, based in British Virgin Isles.

Sheffield United chief executive Stephen Bettis insists the club are not in danger of going into administration. Reports on Friday stated the club had introduced measures to reduce expenditure and avoid the threat of administration. Bettis denied that these measures, including cutting back on grass fertiliser and turning off undersoil heating at the training ground, had been taken. The chief executive did admit that United had failed to pay several suppliers on time. The undersoil heating had stopped working after March’s snowfall and United owed the company operating it £26,000. This was paid the following day.

Wigan Athletic manager Shan Maloney admitted his players are still yet to be paid and the club are braced for an “expected” points deduction. Wigan confirmed on March 10 that there had been a delay in wage payments to players and staff due to “liquidity issues”. It is the fourth time in nine months that wage payments have been late. Maloney will fly to Bahrain on Saturday night to meet with Wigan chief executive Malachy Brannigan. The Wigan manager said he hoped the trip would provide “clarity”.

Sheffield United have not commented on reports that they face administration.   The club has been taking cost cutting measures with their takeover bid in limbo:  https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/football/news/sheffield-united-administration-takeover-embargo-26501216

Wigan are a club whose owners no longer regularly pay its players and staff on time. For the fourth time since promotion to the Championship was wrapped up last spring, salaries did not arrive on the scheduled payday last week. An EFL charge is in the post and a three-point deduction is seemingly unavoidable. The Professional Footballers’ Association, too, are monitoring the delays. Wigan’s supporters are anxious, angry and, ultimately, conflicted. An ownership group that saved the club is giving cause to worry. They no longer have a presence at the DW Stadium and long-term motives are being questioned. The rawness of Wigan’s last financial meltdown exacerbates their plight. Less than three years ago, the club was placed in administration after a Hong Kong-based consortium, Next Leader Fund (NLF), saw no other option available within a month of taking over from International Entertainment Corporation (IEC).    The new owners had passed the EFL test which is suppo...

Is Inter Milan up for sale? Inter should represent an enticing opportunity. There is a prestige and scarcity value in being part of a select group of ‘legacy’ clubs. Inter have won the Champions League as many times as Manchester United (three) and more recently, too (2010). They are the only team in Italy to have done the treble and, now COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, the club pulls in huge crowds at San Siro, averaging more than 70,000 a game with millions of fans around the world and more than 20 million followers on social media. Brand-wise, the club’s original concept — Internazionale, brothers of the world — should transcend Italy.  Two years after the end of exclusive talks between Inter and private equity group BC Partners, valuations of football clubs have only climbed further, with the admittedly unique circumstance around the £2.3billion sale of Chelsea establishing a new benchmark. In Italy, the watermark has instead been set by Inter’s ‘cousins’, AC M...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the latest accounts of Leicester City:  https://swissramble.substack.com/p/leicester-city-finances-202122 Leicester’s pre-tax loss nearly tripled from £33m to £92m, mainly due to profit from player sales dropping £35m from £44m to £9m, though revenue also fell £12m (5%) from £226m to £214m. Operating expenses rose £4m (1%), while net interest payable shot up £8m (67%) from £11m to £19m. Leicester’s £92m pre-tax loss is the second worst financial result to date, only surpassed by Manchester United £150m, though large losses were also reported by Tottenham £61m, Wolves £46m and Arsenal £45m. Leicester’s £9m profit from player sales was the club’s lowest since 2015, far below the likes of Aston Villa (mainly Jack Grealish) £97m, Manchester City £68m and Liverpool £28m.    Up until last season Leicester had made a huge amount of money from player sales, adding up to nearly a quarter of a billion pounds in the five years between 2017 ...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the accounts of Aston Villa:  https://swissramble.substack.com/p/aston-villa-finances-202122 Aston Villa swung from a pre-tax loss of £37.3m to a small profit of £0.4m, a striking £38m improvement, thanks to profit from player sales surging from just £1m to £97m. This was partially offset by revenue falling £5m (3%) to £178m and operating expenses increasing £50m (22%). Villa’s £0.4m pre-tax profit is the fourth best financial result to date, only surpassed by Manchester City £42m, West Ham £12m and Liverpool £7m. This is in stark contrast to some other leading clubs, as large losses have been reported by Manchester United £150m, Leicester City £92m,Tottenham £61m, Wolves £46m and Arsenal £45m. In the previous nine years, Villa’s losses added up to an incredible £421m, including £206m in the three seasons between 2019 and 2021 alone, though this period was obviously hit hard by COVID. In fact, in the 10 years up to 2021, Villa lost more mo...

FC Barcelona has halted a $1.5bn fundraising after balking at the terms of the deal amid an increase in US borrowing costs.   It has forced the club to consider alternative financing arrangements. The deal is meant to pay for the revamp of the Spotify Camp Nou stadium.   Kroll Bond Rating Agency had given the club's placement an initial rating of triple B plus, but then lowered it to triple B. The club had net debt of €608m at the end of June 2022.

Wigan new owners Phoenix 2021 publish 2022 accounts, the first full figures since former owner (Au Yeung, put the club into administration weeks after buying it for unknown reasons, reports Kieran Maguire. Wigan have only broken even once in the last decade on a day to day operational basis. Even in the Premier League the club was losing money. Revenue down compared to 2019 (last year for which full figures available) due to being in L1. Down 85% on WAFC final season in Premier League. Broadcast income is by far the largest component for a club such as Wigan in Premier League and whilst receiving parachutes. Once in L1, only get 12% of the EFL deal compared to 80% in Championship. Ticket sales generate less than £100k a match.   Commercial income, which includes sponsorship, hospitality, academy grants and others, appears to be an area addressed by the new owners. Wages are biggest expense for a club. Relegation is usually accompanied by a big fall but Wigan still paid £1...

 Football finance guru Kieran Maguire was asked on Sky Sports News why bidders for Manchester United were not willing to match the Glazers' asking price of £6bn. ‘This is one way how we crunch the numbers, the discounted cash flow model (DCF).  Then use those figures to work out historic relationships between income, costs, funding etc. Use those to create some working assumptions...and mine are fairly optimistic, 15% income growth pa and no major CAPEX investment for at least 5 years.   On the basis of the assumptions project future growth of income, costs and perhaps most importantly cash. Calculate what is known as a “terminal value”, which is the estimate of cash from 2028 onwards by using a bit of financial maths and assuming that investors want (a fairly low) 8% return on their investment. This values the whole business as £2.9bn. Give the banks back what is owed to them first, and this means the shares come out at a figure of $17.35 a share...and the Gla...

Manchester United’s prospective buyers are due to hold face-to-face talks with Raine, the bank handling the sale for the Glazer family, and club officials at Old Trafford in the next fortnight. These discussions are being billed as “stage two” of the process: a deep dive into the club’s finances, when all of United’s commercial secrets are revealed, to select eyes, under a cloak of secrecy. Neither of the two publicly-declared bids are anywhere near Raine’s minimum enterprise value of £6billion, with Sheikh Jassim believed to be in the region of £4.5billion ($5.3bn) and Ratcliffe at around £4.3billion ($5.1bn). However, while their valuations of United are similar, the two bids are very different — Sheikh Jassim wants to buy the entire club in cash, including the 31 per cent of the company not owned by the Glazers; Ratcliffe is only proposing to buy the Glazers’ shares, and doing so with a mix of cash and new borrowing. If anything, indicative bids tend to come down after due d...

Revenue at Leicester City in 2021/22 down 5% to £215m, reports Kieran Maguire. Wages down 5% to £182m.   Day to day losses up 20% to £79m Interest costs up 68% to £19m Player purchases £67m Player sales £13m. Borrowings £343m but over half written off recently. As a result of fall in income and overheads not falling as fast day to day operating losses increased from £66m to £79m. Total losses in the last five seasons were £368m. One way to reduce losses it to sell players, Leicester made a profit of £9m in 21/22, lowest since 2015.   Player purchases modest by recent year standards, player sales low. Leicester have borrowed money from banks and so interest cost up sharply to £363k a week, taking overall pre tax losses to £92m. Broadcast income down £33m due to fewer matches played. UEFA prize/tv money exceeded matchday.    C ommercial income at record level, includes merchandise sales, hospitality etc. Biggest cost for club is wages, Leicester paying £...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews the finances of QPR:  https://swissramble.substack.com/p/qpr-finances-202122?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email QPR’s pre-tax loss significantly increased from (restated) £4.1m to £24.7m, mainly because profit on player sales fell £17.4m to just £0.2m. Revenue rose £7.6m (52%) from £14.5m to £22.1m, as a result of COVID restrictions being lifted and business returning to normal.   The revenue growth was eaten up and more by operating expenses increasing £10.8m (30%) to £46.4m.  QPR’s cost base shot up, as the club appeared to return to the dark days of gambling on promotion. The wage bill increased £3.4m (14%) from £24.2m to £27.6m.    QPR’s £24.7m loss is the second highest reported to date in the 2021/22 Championship, only surpassed by Bristol City £28.5m. Since Tony Fernandes arrived in August 2011, total losses have amounted to £254m – or £314m if we exclude a £60m loan write-off in 2014. Since Tony Fernande...

Stoke City made a £29m loss from day to day operations in 21/22, down from £46m the previous year but player sale profits reduced this by £10m, reports Kieran Maguire.  A loan from Bet365 of £120m that was never going to be repaid has been formally agreed as never going to be repaid. Excluding the unusual stadium sale profits and debt write off the club has made operating losses over the years of £233 million. Stoke spent £35m more than they generated in 21/22 from day to day running of the club. This was effectively funded by reducing the club’s cash balance. Revenue down £10m as increase in matchday and hospitality could not offset end of parachute payments. Wages down 26% as Premier League contracts expire. Average wage now just £17,300 a week.   Wages were £120 for every £100 of income [a high figure, but not unusual in the Championship]. Stoke bought players for £5.9m. Players who originally cost £81m left at end of contract or were sold for £15m.   Club ha...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews Liverpool's 2021/22 finances:  https://swissramble.substack.com/p/liverpool-finances-202122 Liverpool swung from a £5m pre-tax loss to a £7m profit, as revenue shot up £107m (22%) from £487m to a club record £594m, but this was partly offset by operating expenses rising £85m (16%) to £612m and profit on player sales falling £11m from £39m to £28m. Liverpool’s significant revenue growth did not directly feed into the bottom line, as expenses also grew substantially. Wages shot up £52m (16%) from £314m to £366m (another club record), while other expenses rose £36m (38%) from £96m to £132m, mainly due to the higher cost of staging games with fans. Liverpool’s £7m pre-tax profit is the third best to date last season, only surpassed by Manchester City £42m and West Ham £12m. This sustainable approach is in stark contrast to some other leading clubs, as large losses were reported by Manchester United £150m, Tottenham £61m and Arsenal £45m (plus ...

Wolves had day to day losses of £58m in 2021/22, reports Kieran Maguire. Insurance claim and player sale profits reduced this to ‘just’ £40m, before interest costs added a further £5m to expenses. Wolves spent £29m more cash than they generated in day to day trading. Net cash player spend was £11m. As a result Club had to borrow a further £44m from banks. Revenue was not very comparable to previous year which was distorted by lockdown. Matchday up as crowds returned, broadcast down as fewer matches played compared to 20/21. Total wage bill down £19m partly due to fewer matches played. Staff numbers up as lockdown ended. Highest paid director income up 50%. Interest on loans over £100k a week.    Wolves owe £104m to banks and pay interest of 7% on the sum. Also borrowed from Fosun in the year interest free. Wolves bought players for £31m and had sales of £20m.   Wolves had a net transfer spend of £121m in the summer 22/Jan 23 windows.

Aston Villa had a £96m day to day operating loss in 21/22. Sale of Jack Grealish turned this into a £1m profit, reports Kieran Maguire.   Villa have lost £584 million since 2016. Villa had to pay £10m to Randy Lerner after Tony Xia weaselled out of paying a sum due to RL. Villa bought players for over £200m in 21/22, taking total squad cost to £450m. Player sales were £103m. Since end of 21/22 owners have put £98m cash into Villa in fresh shares. Player purchases £63m and sales £48m. Club controlled by a Luxembourg company.

Coventry City publish 2021/22 accounts, reports Kieran Maguire.  Revenue was up £6m due to return from lockdown.  Losses up slightly due to higher wages and overheads.  Wages £87 for every £100 of income, good by Championship standards.    Total income was highest for a long time. Impact of return from lockdown and Championship level crowds very clear as matchday income was much higher.   Broadcast income over five times higher in Championship than in League One so makes significant impact for Coventry.    Commercial income almost doubled as higher sponsor deals from being in Championship plus greater perimeter and merchandise sales. Rent bill increased by £1m. Net interest costs same as for most seasons, about £40-50k a week.   As a result of these costs for the third season in a row Coventry have lost about £100k a week. Total losses for Coventry now exceed £100m.   Borrowings have increased steadily over time under old owne...

Liverpool 2021/22 accounts published, reports Kieran Maguire. Revenue up £107m post COVID to record £594m but costs up £85m too.  Operating profit £10m, would have been a loss except for player sale profits.  Player signings £68m and sales £33m. Book value of squad down £40m but more spending on infrastructure. Despite success over years overall small loss still made. Liverpool repaid £40m of bank loans in 21/22. Net cash spend on player transfers was £65m. Main driver of increase in revenue was return of crowds to Anfield. Broadcast revenue was down due to technical reasons relating to 20/21. Commercial revenue up   as megastore open match days etc. Staff numbers now exceed 1,000. Wage bill up 18% due to signings and contract extensions. Highest paid director joins the £2m club

Swindon Town turnover up £2m in 2021/22 following end of lockdown and club has gone from a £1.1m loss to a £158k profit, reports Kieran Maguire. Despite the 2022 profits Swindon have clocked up losses of over £13m in previous seasons and reliant on owner loans for funding. Swindon had furlough income of £581k in 2020/21 to help club survive Covid, these dried up in 21/22 as lockdown ended. Swindon’s whole squad cost zero by end of 21/22. Swindon’s total borrowings went from £4m to £5m as owner Clem Morfuni restructured and extended support for the club.