Premier League boom ‘masking’ English football’s financial woes, says BDO
The Premier League’s record revenues and transfer spending are masking deepening financial worries lower down the English football pyramid, according to a new report from BDO.
The business advisory firm’s annual survey of finance directors at clubs in the top four divisions found that 90 per cent expected to report pre-tax trading losses for 2025. A similar number said they would need additional shareholder funding in the near future.
“By some measures, the English professional game is in rude health – with record breaking revenues in the Premier League, new commercial opportunities for women’s football and sustained high levels of interest from international and institutional investors,” said BDO head of professional sports Ian Clayden.
“But, below the surface, clubs are facing significant financial pressures, due in large part to the persistently high costs of wages as a proportion of overall revenues, and borrowing more. Ever-increasing player transfer fees may well be masking this trend.
“In any other industry, this combination of elevated costs, sustained losses and high borrowing would be ringing alarm bells.”
English football heading for ‘big crash’?
BDO said investor interest in English football continued to “defy gravity”, with two thirds of clubs reporting they had received approaches within the last 12 months.
“The question is whether the football universe will continue to expand infinitely, or whether at some point we may see a contraction, reversal or even a big crash,” Clayden added.
Aggregate revenues at Premier League clubs reached a new high of £6.4bn in 2024, while they spent more than £3bn for the first time last summer.
But BDO said most top-flight clubs reported that they expected wages to account for more than 70 per cent of turnover in 2025, while in the Championship the average figure was 93 per cent.
More than half of clubs said their financial health “could be better, but is not bad”, while more than a quarter described them as “in need of attention”.