Not surprisingly, this news arrives conspicuously at an awkward time when the majority of football teams are in a dilemma worried about the bludgeoning financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The cash flow has all of a sudden dried up with no in-flowing TV money or gate receipts due to fixtures postponed indefinitely for the immediate future. Now the finances of the clubs at the top register of the pyramid have been revealed and they do not paint a picture of optimism at all, to say the least.
As per the Daily Mail, first to straddle an uncomfortably wide chasm on the list are none other than Manchester United with a glaring debt of £169.3 million in player transfer fees as deals for the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have left them in a tough position. No, this time we shouldn’t pin this on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as it is only fitting that Ed Woodward holds the accountability for the finances. Fair is fair.
That said, Manchester United certainly aren’t the only team with huge debts weighing them down.
Longtime rivals Manchester City are close in tow, saddled with a debt of £83.7 million, while Tottenham are just behind them to a sad tune of £83.4 million.
Of concern too are Fulham at £73.9 million in debt as the London club optimistically went on a big spending spree upon returning to the Premier League in 2018 but were immediately relegated back to the Championship. The Cottagers were actually flying high in the second division and pushing hard for automatic qualification back to the top-echelon before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. They will likely be left in a compromising, even perilous, situation, if this campaign were to be declared null and void.
The full table below lists the debts of each Premier League club (including relegated Fulham, Huddersfield and Cardiff, rather than Norwich, Aston Villa and Sheffield United):
- Manchester United: £169.3m debt
- Manchester City: £83.7m debt
- Spurs: £83.4m debt
- Bournemouth: £76.6m debt
- Fulham: £73.9m debt
- West Ham: £70.2m debt
- Southampton: £63.7m debt
- Arsenal: £53.2m debt
- Crystal Palace: £47.2m debt
- Wolves: £44.2m debt
- Leicester City: £43.6m debt
- Liverpool: £36.7m debt
- Everton: £24.2m debt
- Watford: £23.7m debt
- Brighton: £16.5m debt
- Cardiff: £9.6m debt
- Burnley: £5.3m debt
- Chelsea: Owed £1m in transfer fees
- Huddersfield: Owed £4m in transfer fees
- Newcastle: Owed £15m in transfer fees
Only three clubs – Chelsea, Huddersfield and Newcastle – are not in debt over transfers.
Realistically as we all know, the coronavirus crisis with the continued suspension of all matches is adversely impacting all football teams, both those in the top flight as well as those in lower leagues.