Benfica’s 2023/24 accounts cover a season where they finished second in the Primeira Liga, which was pretty good by most clubs’ standards, but has to be considered a disappointment for the club from Lisbon, especially after they won the league the previous season. President Rui Costa, the former player (and football legend), admitted, “This fell short of what we intended in terms of sport.” In 2023/24 Benfica swung from a €2m profit before tax to a €31m loss, a deterioration of €33m, as revenue fell €17m (9%) from €196m to €179m and profit from player sales dropped €6m (8%) from €64m to €58m. This was exacerbated by operating expenses increasing €6m (3%) to €252m and net interest payable rising by a third from €12m to €16m. The net result after tax went from a €4m profit to a €31m loss. Importance of player sales Rui Costa attributed the loss to the Euros, which delayed activity in the summer transfer window, thus reducing the club’s ability to make money from player sales....