Premier League - English clubs £3bn in red

Eurosport - Wed, 08 Oct 08:50:00 2008

English football has amassed debts of around £3 billion at all levels of the game and a top club could fold in the current financial climate, according to FA chairman Lord Triesman.

2008-2009 Liverpool Benitez is the business - 0

Triesman told a conference of football business leaders that the figure was based on information supplied by sources in the City of London and was the most reliable and up-to-date estimate available.

"The best estimate I could get in the City yesterday was that debts in English football as a whole have probably edged to the 3,000 million pounds mark," he said in the opening keynote speech at the two-day conference at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground.

"There is one thing certain about debt and that is that it has to be repaid, alternatively it has to be refinanced.

"The debt mountain as we now know is owned around the world and therefore part of the value of the club is owned around the world, either by financial institutions some of which are in terrible health, sometimes by very wealthy owners who are not bound to stay in the club and sometimes by not very wealthy owners who are also not bound to stay with their club.

"As we all know today and far too painfully, financial institutions become ever more risk averse."

Triesman said nearly a third of the overall debt - £950m - was owed by England's top four clubs - Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal - and that on average the wage bills were climbing by 12 percent a year.

The FA itself had accrued 400 million pounds of debt following the construction of the new Wembley Stadium which opened last year - a figure included in his overall estimate.

Asked whether he could guarantee that a top English club would not succumb to debt and fold during the global financial crisis, Triesman told a news conference: "I don't know - it could.

"If somebody had said to me a month ago did I have a genuine fear that Lehman Brothers would go bust I'd say no I didn't.

"What I know is we are in very much more volatile position in which debt is not only a problem in terms of its volume, it's a problem because those who own the debt are themselves now often in serious problems. Your fate isn't in your own hands."

In a later address to delegates, Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the Premier League, said he did not think a leading club would fold.

"This is top of the clubs' agendas and in my view they are managing it responsibly. Is there a financial danger to any club? There is always a financial danger and there has been since clubs first came into existence over 100 years ago, but the 92 professional clubs in England today are very similar to the 92 clubs of yesteryear.

"They are brands that persevere and survive. I don't agree that debt is bad, it is inevitable and to a degree it is healthy as long as it is linked responsibly to your income."

Triesman would not be drawn on the reported troubles of West Ham United, whose owner is Icelandic banker Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. His family are major shareholders in the bank Landsbanki which was put into receivership on Tuesday.

Triesman also said the ownership of clubs was no longer as transparent as it should be with owners moving the debt on through the financial markets.

"The owners break the debt up as a matter of policy into small packages. They mix it with other debts, some of it fine some of it toxic, and sell it on," Triesman told the conference.

"I believe this poses us with a tangible danger, not only is debt at high risk levels, but also in a period where transparency lies in an unmarked grave.

"There is no point in thinking that this affects everybody in the world except football.

"Indeed, further down the pyramid of football more and more clubs are in trouble and a number of owners leave abruptly and either seek repayment of debt owing to them as directors or they can consider selling the ground."

Triesman, a former foreign office minister, said the test for determining who could own an English soccer club, known as the "Fit and Proper Persons' Test", should be more rigorous.

"We can't have a test where someone like Robert Mugabe can own a club because he has not been convicted of anything and someone like Nelson Mandela couldn't," he said.

Reuters

Comment 63 - 82 of 82

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  1. XS, Comment 78. The greatest club on the planet is not Manchester United. You are the current Champions League winners, no more and no less. The accolade of the greatest club on the planet rests solely on Spanish soil, with Real Madrid. And as football clubs, not businesses go, there's even Barcelona and Juventus who are better than Manchester.

    From nevezen@..., on Thu 9 Oct 3:17PM

  2. Syco291

    Cole & Bentley = 2
    Brown & Beckham = 2

    A more general observation would be that the current england team is not predominantly made up of players from any single club or region (excusing for the fact London and surrounding region has significantly more inhabitants than say Nottingham). Thus suggesting if you're good enough you'll make it, be you a product of Luton, Forest or Boro.

    Man Utd fans please feel free to lower yourselves from your self created moral high grounds.

    From Jimmys Lovin It, on Wed 8 Oct 12:45PM

  3. MOPNEY IS DOE

    From mirzaiehamid, on Wed 8 Oct 10:32AM

  4. katehouston spot on too! If you city fans are gonna mention Liverpool's history (coz u haven't exactly got much to shout from the rooftops have you) then do a quick count on the major trophies (ECL, EPL and FA cup) and you will find we are tied level. Learn to count (forgot you won't be able to - supporting City is a mental disability)

    From XS, on Wed 8 Oct 9:09AM

  5. City supporting MUPPETS!!! You think the greatest team in the world are finished - we arent the ones playing in the UEFA CUP, because we committed the least fouls last season (not even for good football) We are CURRENT EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS - You thick T W A T! All the money in the world won't change that. Or that you surrendered a 2 goal lead at the weekend and still lost. Or that you are using one of our old players to try and get you playing some FOOTBALL either for that matter. A few quid in your pocket and you think your the best, wait and see you will do nothing you blue nosed scumbag. All you can sing about is your new found dodgy wealth, coz you weren't alive the last time you won something!! Go and have a w a n k over all the money and towel heads, you are scum and a small club and you prove it by talking garbage all the time

    From XS, on Wed 8 Oct 9:07AM

  6. Perhaps what you meant to express was, “be grammatically correct”. Typing is different from writing.

    From turncharles, on Wed 8 Oct 8:09AM

  7. learn to write you manchester idiots

    From peno1@..., on Wed 8 Oct 7:11AM

  8. learn to write you manchester idiots

    From peno1@..., on Wed 8 Oct 7:10AM

  9. learn to write you manchester idiots

    From peno1@..., on Wed 8 Oct 7:09AM

  10. Yes, one of the EPL clubs will go bust soon.... unless they have wealthy owners that can pump in money regardless. Chelski set the standard there. The Arse have refused to pump irresponsible money and have run the club like an ongoin business. Unlucky for West Ham that their owner is taking a big financial hit. If that happens to Levy, the Glaziers etc then you can be sure that club will be in the *#

    From clive, on Wed 8 Oct 6:48AM

  11. liverpool is no.1 in epl leaque 2008-09

    From euszli_78, on Wed 8 Oct 5:40AM

  12. and u mention the 70's when was it blue shame of the north were playing 3rd division football? still waiting for ur honours list ONLY INCLUDE MAJOR HONOURS eg TITLES EUROS F.A CUPS no 2nd or 3rd div titles please

    From katehouston1@..., on Wed 8 Oct 3:08AM

  13. lol

    From kachepa m, on Wed 8 Oct 2:58AM

  14. 3 euros 17 leagues 10 fa cups city reply MONEY NO OBJECT no one wants to play for u and hughs is still a RED

    From katehouston1@..., on Wed 8 Oct 2:58AM

  15. Wouldn't it be great if one of the big four folded! I'm hoping it's Arsenal!
    Cos all there fans are gay!

    From The Guvnor, on Wed 8 Oct 2:32AM

  16. to Billy "James&quot, as its been a while since you have won anything well ages. just thought i'd let you know man city worthless, trophyless and brainless. what have you gonna have won by jan 2009 i bet you a tank of petrol, f all. bet you were the same sad fan saying every other team that won anything bought it in disgust now your gloating about buying it without winning f all. a have a word with yourself. b man utd were self sufficent until glazers.. that means we made are own money when we bought our stars.

    From Michael C, on Wed 8 Oct 2:03AM

  17. Yeah!!, Yeah!!,Yeah!!, we are are so @#$% that the whole footballing world is talking about us, we've skanked the limelight away from all those has been pretenders and just like you, they can't @#$% hack it. FACT 1: Manchester City FC are The Richest Club On The Planet. FACT 2: We buy one world class player lose a few games and then the jealous brainless likes of you believe that we are @#$% and won't win @#$% all,. FACT 3: well my brainless friend i invite you to come back on here in January 2009 and drool with envy when that one world class player becomes part of a world class team...for now i rest my case.

    From Billy, on Wed 8 Oct 1:32AM

  18. Let's face it! Because of the massive debt incurred by Premier League clubs, especially the big 4, expect them to go into administration and be docked points. To clubs with the biggest debt, like ManU, Liverpool and Arsenal, i won't be surprised if they are going start selling some of their prized players soon. To Liverpool, I think your Americans owners might not anymore build that Stanley Park that they promised. Maybe I think because of the global crunch reaching football clubs, more and more of the clubs on the Championship and the lower leagues will rise to be the next ones to take over the premier league because probably some of them do not have that much debt to pay given that they do not get global viewing and ea lack of sponsorship.

    From RV Culalic, on Wed 8 Oct 1:19AM

  19. But City are @#$% and won't win anything.

    From Jon, on Wed 8 Oct 1:06AM

  20. "Oh Dear!!", the so called top four big guns in the English Premier League have finally been exposed and shamed as nothing but paupers, now the whole world know's the reason as to why it took so long for Sir Taggart and the Scum to grab Berbatov's signature on transfer deadline day, the application form for a Munes provident loan hadn't been sanctioned by the FIFA loan's department....HA!!-HA!!-HA!!,
    The Glory supporting Rag Scum might sing and chant about Eastlands being the Council house but at least we don't need to beg,steal and borrow to buy players, we at City pay outright full on cash for our player's and aint life just sweet when you realize that just one City player cost more than it would cost to buy half the Munes misfits and the shithole known as "The Theatre for clowns" combined.
    Is it any wonder that The Spanish Waiter, Greasy Phil, Taggart & @#$% are constantly @#$% themselves on an hourly basis with the thought that the richest club on planet earth is just waiting patiently in the wings to take away all their glory and the most satisfying thing about the whole situation is that not one of these exposed and shamed paupers can do a single thing about it.
    well it is just so refreshing to know that the future is at Eastlands, the future looks very-very bright, the future is "BLUE!!".

    ..."ONE CITY, OUR CITY!!, ONE TEAM, MANCHESTER CITY!!"...

    From Billy, on Wed 8 Oct 12:45AM
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