Premier League club accounts: how in debt are they?
David Conn- 20 May 2011
The Premier League clubs collectively lost close to half a billion pounds in 2009-10 but how in debt are they? Find their income and expenditure by club
The Premier League season has drawn to a close for the season, with Manchester United winning a historic, 19th League title but how are the clubs operating financially?
Despite a record income, the 20 top-flight clubs collectively lost nearly half a billion pounds. Rises in revenue saw a £2.1bn total revenue for the Premier League clubs in 2009-10 but large debts and interest rates have stopped the income from soaring as 16 out of the 20 clubs recorded losses.
David Conn has written:
Across Manchester, United made £286m turnover, more than any other club if Arsenal's property income is discounted – yet the costs and interest on the debts the owners, the Glazer family, have loaded on to the club, pushed United into a losing £79m.
Double-winners in 2009-10 Chelsea, whose owner, the Russian oil oligarch Roman Abramovich, is always cited as a supporter of Uefa's break-even "financial fair play" principles, made the next biggest loss, £78m. Tottenham's successful push for Champions League qualification was achieved with a £7m loss and £15m investment from the owners, principally Bahamas-based currency speculator, Joe Lewis.
Net debt by Premier League club, £m
The table below shows turnover plus income from things such as gate/matchday and TV and broadcasting as well as net debt for each club and wages as a percentage of turnover. The spreadsheet to download includes additional accounts details such as losses, profits and which money put in by the owners.
Finances of the Premier League from latest accounts