Uefa + Premier League in Financial Difficulties
5th August, 2009
European football’s governing body, Uefa, has admitted that it is concerned about the financial stability of the English Premier League. The organisation believes that too many clubs are living beyond their means during the current economic environment.
During recent years, high profile clubs have been taken over and had loans secured against their assets. For example, Liverpool whose owners from the United States recently managed to strike a deal with the Royal Bank of Scotland to renegotiate the club’s debt, which is believed to be around £290m. The Merseyside club have managed to obtain the loan for another year.
In addition to this, Manchester United one of the world’s largest clubs was, taken over in 2005 by Malcolm Glazer. There were numerous concerns about that deal, as the entrepreneur borrowed 540m and had 265m secured against the resources of Manchester United.
David Taylor, the Uefa general secretary, told BBC Radio 5 Live "There are a number of English clubs where the value of the club itself has fallen significantly and they are effectively on the market.We've seen what has happened in recent years with a number of very high-profile clubs, Leeds United for example. They fell into serious financial difficulties by over-extending themselves."
The massive summer spending sprees of Real Madrid and Manchester City has also sent shockwaves through the game. Real Madrid acquired the services of Cristiano Ronaldo for £80m, which is a world record fee and purchased the talented Brazilian playmaker Kaka for 56m from A.C Milan. Meanwhile, Manchester City who is backed by an oil-rich consortium from Abu Dhabi has signed several top international stars.
Taylor’s views on their transfer activities were "I would say in this financial climate, it is surprising, a little bit destabilising of the market. It is certainly raising the ante in terms of the player costs, in terms of the general market place, which is not a thing that gives us a great deal of comfort in these difficult times.
To win the 2009/10 Uefa Champions League F.C Barcelona and Real Madrid are joint favourites at 9/2 with Betfred. Manchester United and Chelsea are 6/1 also with Betfred.
By Dane
