Premiership clubs have lost £1.2bn over the past decade from buying and selling players, a new study claims. Behind The Balance Sheet, a consultancy set up by financial analyst Stephen Clapham, has set out a critique of the finances of elite football. However, it is open to question whether the findings are that surprising, although that does not mean they should not be a concern.
Premiership clubs have lost £1.2bn over the past decade from buying and selling players, a new study claims. Behind The Balance Sheet, a consultancy set up by financial analyst Stephen Clapham, has set out a critique of the finances of elite football. However, it is open to question whether the findings are that surprising, although that does not mean they should not be a concern.
The report, to be published this week, argues that the league makes an overall collective loss. We have known that for some time, given that benefactors have been willing to pump large sums of money into clubs which then has an impact on the overall transfer market.
The 20 member clubs generated total profits, before player trading, of £100m from sales of £2.4bn in the season to May 2012. However, they fell £360m into the red when the cost of player ownership is included. The problem for clubs is that getting a Champions League place, or avoiding relegation, have such an impact on their overall finances that taking risks with transfers might seem justified.
The study also finds few top English clubs are prepared for rules drawn up by Uefa, the sport’s European governing body, designed to protect the financial health of the game. The difficulty here is that it is far from clear how these complex rules are going to be interpreted and implemented and whether they would survive a legal challenge.
It found only three clubs made a profit from player trading over the past decade — Arsenal, Manchester United and Watford, which spent a year in the top flight during that period. In Arsenal’s case they might have done better on the pitch if they had done less well out of player trading, but they were constrained by the cost of the move to the Emirates.