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The level of overspending on wages and players, coupled with contraction in revenue from fans and sales has resulted in clubs - even in the "big" boys league - shackled with huge debts.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Fulham - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - April 4, 2021 General view of an Aston Villa crest on a flag flying atop the stadium before the match Pool via REUTERS/Richard Heathcote
(Reuters) - Aston Villa suffered losses of 99.2 million pounds ($136.23 million) in the 2019-20 season as the COVID-19 pandemic hit their finances, the Premier League club said on Friday.
The club spent 155.9 million pounds in new recruits after they were promoted in 2019 in a bid to stay in the top flight beyond the 2019-20 season and the club finished 17th on the final day to survive.
Every club’s matchday income has taken a hit with games being held behind closed doors. A return of fans in small numbers this season has been planned only for the League Cup final and FA Cup.
"Although turnover for the year was 112.6 million pounds, substantially up from 54.3 million pounds in the previous year, the unexpected cost of the pandemic contributed to a total loss of 99.2 million compared to 68.9 million pounds in 2018-19," the club said in a statement here.
“Thanks to the unwavering support of our owners, the operating loss and all capital investment has been funded by shareholder equity. Aston Villa remains debt free.”
Other clubs who announced losses include Manchester City (126 million pounds) and Arsenal (47.8 million pounds) but Chelsea recorded a profit of 32.5 million pounds in the last financial year.
Leeds also reported a loss almost 65 million in the last financial year - with Premier League debts in the last year totalling well over 400 million pounds in the last financial year.
Add wages and running costs - how long can some clubs endure without huge financial support from their owners (?) or hoping to regularly sell players on to "big" clubs? [See Southampton].
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Aston Villa v Fulham - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - April 4, 2021 General view of an Aston Villa crest on a flag flying atop the stadium before the match Pool via REUTERS/Richard Heathcote
(Reuters) - Aston Villa suffered losses of 99.2 million pounds ($136.23 million) in the 2019-20 season as the COVID-19 pandemic hit their finances, the Premier League club said on Friday.
The club spent 155.9 million pounds in new recruits after they were promoted in 2019 in a bid to stay in the top flight beyond the 2019-20 season and the club finished 17th on the final day to survive.
Every club’s matchday income has taken a hit with games being held behind closed doors. A return of fans in small numbers this season has been planned only for the League Cup final and FA Cup.
"Although turnover for the year was 112.6 million pounds, substantially up from 54.3 million pounds in the previous year, the unexpected cost of the pandemic contributed to a total loss of 99.2 million compared to 68.9 million pounds in 2018-19," the club said in a statement here.
“Thanks to the unwavering support of our owners, the operating loss and all capital investment has been funded by shareholder equity. Aston Villa remains debt free.”
Other clubs who announced losses include Manchester City (126 million pounds) and Arsenal (47.8 million pounds) but Chelsea recorded a profit of 32.5 million pounds in the last financial year.
Leeds also reported a loss almost 65 million in the last financial year - with Premier League debts in the last year totalling well over 400 million pounds in the last financial year.
Leeds report £64.6m losses on Premier League return
For the financial year ending July 2020, the clubs accounts, published on Companies House, show their operating losses had increased from £36.1m the previous year; turnover increased from £48.9m to £54.2m as they stormed to the Championship title.
www.skysports.com
Add wages and running costs - how long can some clubs endure without huge financial support from their owners (?) or hoping to regularly sell players on to "big" clubs? [See Southampton].