Top 10 clubs in Europe by net debt
UEFA has released a report named “The European Club Footballing Landscape” for the financial year 2015 which is essentially the UEFA Club Licensing Benchmarking Report. The report’s primary focus is on the financial as well as off-the-pitch developments in club football across Europe.
The report contains information about match attendances, wages, stadium projects, player recruitment, club ownership, revenues and so on. The clubs in the top ten of each category are mentioned along with relevant numbers.
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One category of prime importance is the net debt of various clubs across Europe. UEFA’s efforts to implement Financial Fair Play is based on the motive of preventing clubs from spending more than they earn so that they do not fall into debt and eventually into administration.
Therefore, this category makes for an interesting viewing for it sheds some light on the state of certain clubs. The list contains some expected entities while throwing light on a few unexpected ones.
So, here are the top 10 clubs in Europe by net debt.
#10 AS Roma, €208 million
The first of the Italian clubs on the list, AS Roma have a debt of €208 million as per the report. This amount is roughly equal to the revenue generated by the club which Forbes specifies is at €180 million.
However, the impending approval for the €1.3billion Stadio Della Roma, the new stadium, could lead to further increase in debt till the stadium is operational and revenue increases. Roma’s chief executive Umberto Gandini has confirmed the project to start in the upcoming months and is expected to finish before the 2020-21 season.
Unless there is an increase in revenue on the commercial front, Roma could see a further increase in debt in the coming years.