When Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid from Manchester United for a world record fee it was a one-off thing but now transfer fee records keep tumbling almost every season.
This not only shows that the purchasing power of most of the clubs have gone up but also their revenues have skyrocketed.
So here’s a look the top six financial breakdown for the top six Premier League sides for the year ending 2016-17.
1. ARSENAL:
Accounts for the year to May 31st, 2017
Turnover: £427m (3rd highest in the league)
Wages: £199m (5th highest in the league, 47 per cent of turnover)
Profit before tax: £45m (up from £3m in 2016)
Gate and match-day income: £100m
TV and broadcasting: £199m
Retail: £26m
Commercial: £91m
Property development: £1m
Player trading: £7m
Net debt: £47m
Interest payable: £15m
Highest-paid director: Ivan Gazidis – £2.618m
2. CHELSEA:
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2017
Turnover: £368m (4th highest in the league)
Wages: £221m (3rd highest, 60per cent of turnover)
Loss before tax: £14m (down from £85m loss in 2016)
Broadcasting: £162m
Matchday: £66m
Commercial: £140m
Net debt Not stated: £1.17bn owed to Roman Abramovich
Interest payable: No net interest payable
Highest-paid director: £229,000 to unnamed director of Chelsea Football Club Ltd.
3. LIVERPOOL:
Accounts for the year to 31 May 2017
Turnover: £364m (5th highest in the league)
Wages: £208m (4th highest, 57per cent of turnover)
Profit before tax: £40m (follows a £20m loss in 2016)
Gate and matchday income: £74m
TV and broadcasting: £154m
Commercial activities: £136m
Net debt Not stated: bank loan £72m; £130m owed to FSG
Interest payable: £7m
Highest-paid director: Unnamed, £914,000
4. MANCHESTER CITY:
Accounts for 13 months to 30 June 2017
Turnover: £473m (2nd highest in the league)
Wages: £264m (Highest, 56per cent of turnover)
Profit before tax: Broke even (follows £20m profit in 2016)
Gate and matchday: £52m
TV and broadcasting, Uefa: £48m
TV and broadcasting, all other: £156m
Commercial activities: £218m
Net debt: £48m
Interest payable: £2m
Highest-paid director: Not identified; £4.3m was paid to “key management personnel” of City Football Group
5. MANCHESTER UNITED:
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2017
Turnover: £581m (Highest in the league)
Wages: £263m (2nd highest, 45per cent of turnover)
Profit before tax: £57m (up from £49m in 2016)
Gate and match-day income: £112m
TV and broadcasting: £194m
Commercial income: £276m
Net debt: £213m
Interest and finance costs: £25m
Highest-paid director: Unnamed, £2.6m, paid by Manchester United Football Club Limited
6. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR:
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2017
Turnover: £306m (6th highest in the league)
Wages: £127m (6th highest, 42per cent of turnover)
Profit before tax: £58m (up from £38m in 2016)
Match receipts: £45m
TV and media: £150m
All commercial activities: £73m
Uefa prize money: £38m
Net debt Stated as a positive: £15m more cash in the bank than the bank loans of £185m
Interest payable: £13m
Highest-paid director: £6m paid to Daniel Levy
So clearly Manchester United had churned out the maximum turnover during the 2016-17 financial year at £581 million but their net debt also stands at a humungous £213 million.
Spurs on the other hand, have no debt in the market and have also managed to make a profit of £58 million.
Note: All the details are from the most recently published annual reports at Companies House
