90% of English clubs plan to make salary losses in 2025

The Premier League reached £6.4 billion (€7.34 billion) in turnover in 2024, but still cannot find the path to profitability. And it is not something exclusively from the richest league in the world; It is a must for the entire pyramid of English professional football. 90% of their clubs plan to make losses in 2025, according to a BDO report.

The record income in the top category is not enough to compensate for the high costs of its structures. Something that is accentuated in the second, third and fourth levels of English football, which is also included in the consulting firm’s analysis. The key lies in the clubs’ salary mass. In this regard, BDO highlights that salaries absorb 63% of income in the Premier League, and 93% in the Championship, the English Second Division, and that it has loss-making projects every year with the sole objective of reaching the Premier League and its unbeatable business. The bottom of the Premier earned 125 million euros for television in 2024-2025.

This requires a high dependence on external financing, recalls the report. Financial pressure is reflected in the need for capital. Almost 90% of the clubs recognize that they will require contributions from shareholders in the short term, and almost half assume that this will imply dilution through the entry of minorities or co-investment agreements.

In parallel, the use of external debt has become normalized, with instruments such as financing transfer payments, advances of audiovisual rights and assignment of credits for transfers, in addition to traditional loans.

Investor interest remains very high

Despite the complex financial context, two thirds of the clubs surveyed claim to have received contacts from potential investors in the last year. This appetite coexists with a prudent perception of financial health: more than half of financial directors consider that the situation “could be better, but it is not bad”, while more than a quarter warn that finances “need attention”, an assessment that worsens compared to previous years.

Furthermore, the report also highlights the growing gap between Premier League and Championship clubs. Some economic differences that are evident in the sporting aspect – it is common for promoted clubs to fall back to the Second Division the following year, unless they make a strong investment in signings, as was the case of Nottingham Forest, which was later sanctioned by the Premier League, precisely, for its high losses derived from this bet – and in the financial aspect.

BDO points to the distorting effect of parachute payments, aiding relegation from the Premier League. A point that is topical, since this week the new regulator of English football – promoted by the United Kingdom Government itself – explained that it could control, and even set, the value of this contribution from the league to the clubs that lose the category.

Ian Clayden, partner and head of professional sports at BDO, said: “Clubs face strong financial pressures, largely derived from the persistent weight of salaries on income and increased debt. In any other sector, this combination of high costs, sustained losses and high leverage would set off alarm bells.”