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The year 2020 will go down in history books as one that brought unmitigated misery on the human race. The still-raging COVID-19 pandemic has not only wreaked havoc on human lives but has also destroyed or severely hampered global businesses, with the football world being no exception.
With smaller football clubs struggling to stay afloat, big clubs like Barcelona asking players to take pay-cuts and most football teams failing to do their 'usual' business in this transfer window (except, of course, Chelsea), it is pertinent to look at the business side of the game right now.
Some of the veritable giants of the game like Juventus have tried to offload superstar players with high salaries to reduce their wage bills in this milieu.
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And with UEFA recently bringing out their latest Benchmarking Report a few weeks ago, it will be interesting to take a look at which of the Goliaths of the game are in the most debt right now.
Often, football clus with long-term business plans run into debts despite making huge revenues. On most occasions, they manage to recoup their losses. But sometimes, things go haywire. They are declared bankrupt, go into administration and face severe sanctions like relegation or docking of points due to financial profligacy.
With that in mind and with the burgeoning recession caused by the pandemic still looming over us, we take a look at the five football clubs with the most debt right now.
5 football clubs with the highest debt:
#5: Juventus – €372m
No surprises here. Juventus have been the top football club in Italy for years and have won the Seria A title nine times in a row.
However, their Champions League ambitions have often bordered on desperation, something that led them to acquire the services of the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo on a humongous €100 million transfer from Real Madrid.
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Juventus, like many other football clubs, have asked players to take wage cuts as they have players like Ronaldo, Matthijs de Ligt and Paulo Dybala who draw huge wages and dent the football club's finances.
The Bianconeri had a wage bill of €8.55 million ($10.11 million) last season, which was more than that of the next two Serie A clubs (AS Roma and Inter Milan) combined. Despite making a profit of €39.8 million ($47 million) last year, Juventus' transfer fees, wages and development work of the Allianz Arena has led to a debt of €372m - a situation that the Italian football giant will hope to turn around as soon as possible.
#4: Atletico Madrid – €384m
Atletico Madrid also went Juventus' way last summer; they spent a fortune in the transfer window before the pandemic wrecked havoc. They bought Joao Felix for €126 million and also added the likes of Marcos Llorente and Kieran Trippier during a pretty significant inflow of incoming players.
However, the football club has been reportedly liquidating assets to pay off debts but still have some way to go. Therefore, selling off big players and reducing their wage bill are important priorities for the Rojiblancos this season, apart from success on the pitch.
Like other football clubs in this list, Atletico have also gone the pay-cut way and have managed to significantly reduce their debt. However, they are still paying for their new, lavish stadium and have the highest-paid coach in world football in Diego Simeone, who has delivered their best era but was also paid €40 million last season, which was almost €10 million more than the next man on the list - Antonio Conte.
#3: Inter Milan – €461m
It is to Antonio Conte's club Inter Milan that we move to next. Inter Milan are a football club in this list that have been in debt long before the current pandemic-induced recession hit the game.
Italian football has a combined debt of €4 billion, of which Inter's share is €464 million. Last season's Serie A runners-up are still paying off loans taken in the past to fund huge spending sprees that also brought success.
Inter, currently owned by the Suning Group who have pumped in a lot of money, finished second to Juventus in the Serie A and lost in the Europa League final to Sevilla.
The Nerazzurri, who are the 15th-most valuable football club in the world according to Forbes, are also working with local rivals AC Milan to build a new San Siro. A return to the Champions League earned last season will help the club's finances, but there is still a long way to go.
#2: Tottenham Hotspur – €483m
Another football club with a state-of-the-art new stadium have a huge debt to pay off.
The Tottenham Hotspur stadium is one of the best modern stadiums in England if not the best, but it has come at a steep price for the London football club. Reportedly, the club borrowed £637 million from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and HSBC and continue to reel under that debt.
The stadium name has yet to find a sponsor, and the long-term revenue generation plans from it will take some time to reach fruition.
The London-based football club bought Tanguy Ndombele for a huge fee last season. But their biggest signing this transfer window has been that of Giovanni Lo Celso while they let go of Kyle Walker-Peters to Southampton and Jan Vertongen for a free. Rumour has it that Serge Aurier could also be offloaded by the football club who also suffer from an inflated wage bill, with Harry Kane being the top earner.
#1: Manchester United – €568m
Manchester United are the third-most valuable football club in the world, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. But they are also the club with the most debt in the world right now, with them being in the the red for over €500 million! As paradoxical as that sounds, it is the strange truth of the current business of football.
United, despite spending millions in the transfer market to rope in players like Angel Di Maria (under Louis Van Gaal) and Bruno Fernandes (last season) in the period following Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in a vain attempt to reclaim the glory days, have been consistently in debt since the Glazer family took over the club in 2005.
The Glazers carried their own loans into the club's finances in what is termed as a leveraged buyout. The Red Devils had been debt-free before the takeover happened. The Glazers had refinanced part of this debt, bringing the overall amount down, but it still exists like a sore thumb over which numerous fan protests have erupted over the years.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's club have finally returned to the Champions League, which will definitely enhance their revenue. But with Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Co. still a work in progress as a team, silverware, especially the Premier League trophy, look tough to claim during the upcoming season.
