Hot on the heels of the FA releasing details about Premier League clubs and their payments to agents and intermediaries yesterday (Chelsea were top of the list by miles, in case you were wondering), today Companies House have release the accounts of BlueCo, the company which officials owns the club.
The headline figure is an astonishing £747m spent on transfers. But there’s even more painful detail to read into. Lowering the wage bill was one of the stated aims of the new ownership, and to that end the majority of the experienced players at the club were sent packing – with predictable results on the pitch.
But after all that, the club’s wage bill actually rose by a colossal 18% last season. Details on who is being paid what remain vague.
The BBC article notes that the £747m spent on transfers only takes us up to 30th June accounting deadline of last year. The £450m-odd spent since will be included on next year’s books.
The bottom line
What all this adds up to is what we’re in deep trouble off the pitch as on it. To put it in simple terms, we’ve spent up to the limit and made the team worse.
The club still insist that they will be able to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, but as has been clear for some time now, that will depend on massive sales from the first team squad. So while we can avoid punishment, we’ve left ourselves very few avenues to improving our fortunes on the pitch through transfers.
It seems like Mauricio Pochettino, or whoever replaces him, is going to largely have to work with what they’ve got. New players will come in, but there are going to be a few years of “sell to buy” before we’ve weathered this financial storm.
