Around 90% of clubs in the top four tiers of English football are expected to make financial losses, according to a study by consultancy BDO cited by Spanish newspaper AS, despite continued growth in commercial income and television rights revenue.
The warning comes as English clubs continue to dominate the summer transfer market ahead of the 2026-27 season, with spending reaching hundreds of millions of euros and the value of some clubs rising into the billions of dollars.
The contrasting financial fortunes of Liverpool and Leicester City illustrate the pressures facing the English game.
Liverpool are negotiating the sale of a minority stake of up to 49% to a consortium led by Amit Bhatia, with backing from India’s wealthy Mittal family. The deal could be worth more than $6bn and would provide Fenway Sports Group (FSG) with significant liquidity while allowing it to retain control of the club.
Leicester City, meanwhile, have officially been put up for sale by Thai owners King Power. The group has appointed City Group to look for new investors as it attempts to avoid a severe financial and sporting crisis.
Just 10 years after their historic Premier League title triumph in 2016, Leicester recorded losses of £71.1m and were relegated to the Championship.
BDO’s forecast covers clubs across the top four divisions of the English football pyramid and points to a widespread profitability problem. The report suggests that about nine out of every 10 clubs will finish their seasons in the red.
In response to those concerns, the Premier League introduced new financial rules at the start of the current season. Under the rules, clubs must keep spending on players to no more than 85% of their total revenue, as part of an effort to improve long-term financial sustainability.
Moises Asayag, managing partner at Channel Associados and a specialist in football finance, said: “The Premier League is going through a delicate phase; despite the increase in revenue from sponsorship and broadcasting rights, clubs in the richest league in the world are finding it difficult to make profits because of high operating costs, inflated wages and the financial pressure created by growing sporting competition year after year.”
Despite the financial concerns, English clubs remain the biggest spenders in the summer transfer market. European registration is scheduled to remain open until 1 September.
Transfermarkt data shows that spending in the five major European leagues currently stands at €1.39bn in England, €585.5m in Italy, €434.2m in Germany, €307m in Spain and €245m in France.
The next five leagues on the spending list are Turkey at €225m, Portugal at €179m, the Championship at €145.3m, Saudi Arabia at €90m and the Netherlands at €83m.
Four of the five most expensive transfers so far have involved Premier League clubs, with one completed in La Liga:
1. Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa to Chelsea for €138m.
2. Elliot Anderson, Nottingham Forest to Manchester City for €135m.
3. Sandro Tonali, Newcastle United to Tottenham for €108m.
4. Matheus Fernandes, West Ham United to Tottenham for €99m.
5. Anthony Gordon, Newcastle United to Barcelona for €80m.
Asayag added: “The series of losses suffered by most Premier League clubs confirms that regulatory models need greater efficiency, and perhaps greater strictness, to find solutions that guarantee the long-term sustainability of leagues without creating financial and sporting imbalances between clubs.”
Veridiano Pinheiro, chief executive of the Foot Pro exhibition, said the competition to acquire stakes in Premier League clubs demonstrated how football had developed beyond the traditional idea of a sporting competition.
He said: “The investors are not betting only on sporting history, but on the strength of the brand, the ability to attract fans and to generate record commercial and media revenues. This makes the real value of clubs depend on their ability to turn sport into a global product.”
Claudio Fioretto, chief executive of P&P Sport Management, which manages the professional careers of more than 150 players worldwide, said English football was undergoing a fundamental change in the nature of investment.
He said: “Instead of focusing on buying players, capital is now turning towards buying stakes in the clubs themselves.”
Fioretto added: “With the record figures achieved by the Premier League in commercial revenue and its ability to attract global investors, the player is no longer the most important asset. The sporting institution itself has become the real investment, based on valuations of billions of dollars.”
