Black Cats are purring

Before the season started, everyone expected the Black Cats to go straight back down, but Régis Le Bris’ side defied the odds to reach Europe for the first time since 1973.   From Zurich the Swiss Ramble reviews their remarkable progress.   Here are some highlights.

The return to the Premier League did not come easy, as both promotions were only achieved via the play-offs, including a nail biting victory over Sheffield United to get out of the Championship, when the winning goal was scored in the fifth minute of injury time.

Ownership

There has been a distinct improvement in Sunderland’s fortunes since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus (KLD) became controlling shareholder in February 2021, when he bought 41% of the club, though the previous ownership group retained 59%: Stewart Donald 34%, Juan Sartori 20% and Charlie Methven 5%. Even though it was only a minority stake, this gave Louis-Dreyfus full control of the board.

This transaction made Louis-Dreyfus the youngest person to ever own an English football club and even now he is just 28 years old. That said, his late father Robert once owned French team Olympique de Marseille, so football is in his veins.

In June 2022 Louis-Dreyfus increased his stake to 51% after buying out Charlie Methven’s 5% and another 5% from Donald, who also sold 10% to Sartori, increasing the Uruguayan’s shareholding to 30%.   In May 2023 Louis-Dreyfus and Sartori acquired the remaining shares of Stewart Donald, so the current shareholding is 64% for KLD, 34% for Sartori and 2% others.

It’s fair to say that Sunderland gave themselves a fighting chance of survival, as they splashed out a chunky £185m on new players, which was the ninth highest in in the top flight this season, according to Transfermarkt.  Sunderland broke the record for transfer spend in the first season after promotion to the Premier League, as their £185m put them ahead of Nottingham Forest £170m (2022/23), Aston Villa £156m (2019/20) and Bournemouth £130m (2022/23). It’s no coincidence that all these clubs have survived and flourished.

Under KLD Sunderland’s strategy has been to invest in young players with potential for further development, which should help with player trading profits in the future, though they have also been mindful of the need to perform on the pitch.   [This hasn’t worked at Chelsea though].

In addition, the ownership has focused on the club’s financial sustainability, learning from past mistakes. Even though Sunderland still lose money, the losses are much more manageable than in the past.

Financial performance

In 2024/25 Sunderland said that “performance off the pitch followed that on it”, as their pre-tax loss more than halved from £8.6m to £4.0m, after revenue rose £2.1m (6%) from £38.2m to £40.3m.   However, there was a steep increase in operating expenses, which shot up £32.2m (59%) from £55.0m to £87.2m, partly due to a hefty promotion bonus, while net interest payable more than quadrupled from £0.6m to £2.9m.  This led to the operating loss almost tripling from £16.9m to £46.9m, but this was offset by profit on player sales rising from £8.8m to £45.9m.

Although losing money is rarely good news, Sunderland’s £4.0m loss was actually one of the better results in the Championship, as most clubs in this division lose huge sums.

The accounts noted that last season’s small loss was partly due to “the ongoing development of the club’s player trading model, which remains a key component of Sunderland’s long-term growth and sustainability”.  As a result, they generated £55m profit from player sales in the last two seasons, which was more than the previous nine seasons combined.

That said, this season is likely to see a far smaller profit unless more players leave in the early stages of this summer’s window), as departures to date have been for low sums, e.g. Pierre Ekwah to Saint-Etienne, Patrick Roberts to Birmingham City and Nectarios Triantis to Minnesota United.

Sunderland said that the club had “maintained the strong revenue growth”, which is fair comment, as this has increased four seasons in a row, almost quadrupling from the COVID-impacted £10.7m in League One to £40.3m.   Excluding broadcasting, Sunderland’s revenue was actually up £13m (91%) in this period, rising from £15m to £28m, as both commercial and gate receipts were significantly higher, showcasing the club’s ability to drive revenue growth outside centrally negotiated TV deals.

Of course, Sunderland’s revenue will have been significantly higher this season after promotion, mainly due to the far more lucrative TV money in the Premier League.  Sunderland’s amazing achievement in qualifying for the Europa League will further boost their revenue next season.  For example, this season Aston Villa earned around £36m, though they did have to win the competition to get this much, while semi-finalists Nottingham Forest received £21m.

Sunderland’s gate receipts rose £1.7m (14%) from £11.6m to £13.3m, which the club said was “underpinned by strong support from season ticket holders”. This is the club’s highest since 2013/14, when they generated £14.6m in the Premier League.  Sunderland’s average attendance slightly increased from 41,028 to 41,158, which was the club’s highest since relegation from the Premier League, including more than 35,000 season ticket sales.

Sunderland’s wages shot up £22.4m (72%) from £31.4m to £53.8m, significantly impacted by a promotion bonus, which the Swiss Ramble estimates as £16m. However, even if that were excluded, they would have still increased by £6.4m (21%) to £37.8m.

Quality spendiing

As well as spending more money, it is evident that the quality of Sunderland’s recruitment has improved, partly due to the appointment of Florent Ghisolfi as director of football. His experience in similar roles at Roma, Nice and Lens has given the former French player a wealth of contacts.

Sunderland have also ramped up investment in infrastructure, adding up to £14.5m in the last three years, including £9.9m in 2024/25 alone.  There were major renovation programmes across all sites to start making them ready for the Premier League, while redevelopment at the Stadium of Light was focused on enhancing premium match day and commercial offerings.

Sunderland’s £19.8m owner funding was relatively low compared to other clubs in the Championship. In those five years, half of the clubs in the division received more than £50m, led by Leeds United £330m, Cardiff City £133m, Norwich City £115m and QPR £110m.

Conclusions

The Swiss Ramble concludes: ‘This has been a magical period for Sunderland, first securing a promotion back to the Premier League, then qualifying for the Europa League after finishing an incredible seventh.  There is no doubt that Sunderland are a big club with a passionate fanbase, so their rightful home does feel like it should be the Premier League, but their return to the top flight had to be earned in one of the most competitive divisions in the world.

To gain promotion while almost breaking-even made this achievement even more impressive. That said, Sunderland’s small £4m loss in 2024/25 was very dependent on £46m profit on player sales, which largely offset the sizeable £47m operating loss.

Since then, they have obviously splashed the cash, breaking the record for transfer spend for a promoted club, but this has become an economic necessity if clubs want to give themselves a decent chance of survival.

In fact, Sunderland have done a lot more than just survive, as they have thrived in the top flight. We await the financial results of this season, but it is certain that they will have smashed their revenue record.

As the accounts drily observed, “The return to the Premier League means the club is very well-positioned to capitalise on its strong underlying fundamentals and ongoing strategic investment programme.”

There are challenges to be faced, including the additional workload arising from a European campaign, which can have an adverse impact on domestic form.

However, it’s a good moment to look at what Sunderland have achieved in the last couple of years. Here’s the long-serving Luke O’Nien, “There’s been a beautiful evolution and credit to the club, to the owner and everyone underneath for – so far – executing a really good game plan.”