Three Serie A clubs hold almost 90% of the total €1.068 billion debts in the league while Napoli have none at all. A report by Il Corriere dello Sport (via Calciomercato) outlines how the situation across Europe has worsened over the years with a number of elite clubs shouldering more and more debt burdern.
The total bank debt in European football has grown by €1.25 billion, up 22% on the previous year and compared to the pre-Covid situation at the end of 2019, the increase in total debt is 51%.
The ‘Big five ‘ leagues alone are burdened with over €7.5 billion in bank debt in addition to €2.5 billion to internal lenders, making a total of €10 billion in liabilities.
In the overall picture, situations of enormous difficulty stand out, such as Spain, where bank debt exceeds €2.5 billion, an increase of 54% on the previous year.
Behind La Liga is the Premier League with €1.9 billion in debt, bearing in mind that the absolute value of the debt says little if it is not related to income, and the Premier League’s revenues is three times that of La Liga and Serie A.
The healthiest clubs are in German and the Netherlands, who have virtually no debt at all, while Serie A has bank debts of €1.068 billion. Of this total exposure, three clubs hold almost 90% total share: Inter with €390 million, Juventus €223 and Roma with €271.
The Bianconeri have reduced their debts by €250 million, thanks to the €400 million capital increase in December 2021, but almost €900 million out of a billion Euro’s of debt is borne by these three clubs, while Milan has minimal debt (€71 million) and Napoli zero.
The Top 10: Tottenham leads the top 10 most indebted clubs with €1.007 billion, up €267 million, followed by Real Madrid with €967 million (+€773, due to the new Bernabeu stadium), third place for Barcelona with €841 million (+€768). Fourth place for Manchester United with €751 million (+€141), fifth for Atletico Madrid with €536 million (+€169), sixth for Inter, the first Italian side in the top 10, with €390 million, up by €77 million. Next comes Roma with €271 million (+€45), eighth Juventus with €223 million (-€240 million, thanks to the capital increase), ninth Liverpool with €103 million (+€47), Psg closes with €90 million (+€90).