Premier League wages [are a disgrace] - from the BBC

"For every £100 that comes into Premier League football clubs, £67 goes out on the wage bill..."

Soaring wages are threatening the stability of Premier League clubs, a report into football finances has said.

Premier League clubs spent 67% of their revenues on player wages during the 2008/09 season, Deloitte said.

Chelsea again topped the wages bill, at £167m, while Manchester City's wage bill soared from £54m to £83m.

"For every £100 that comes into Premier League football clubs, £67 goes out on the wage bill - that's too high," said Deloitte's Dan Jones.

'Rein in'

Mr Jones, the editor of Deloitte's Annual Review of Football Finance, said the wages ratio was above the 58% to 63% of the past decade.

"The result is that profit margins are very thin or non-existent, and with the tightening of credit as well, that is really making that problem come into sharp focus now, and those debt levels start to pinch," he said.

The wage bills of Premier League clubs have recorded double-digit percentage growth for three years running. In 2008/09 they were up by £132m, or 11%, to £1.3bn.

Total wages have grown by 55%, or £474m, in that three-year period.

"The growth in wages is difficult to slow down, given existing three or four-year [player] contracts, but must nonetheless be reined back to address clubs' declining profitability," Mr Jones added.

And he said that the wages ratio in the Football League was 86% as a whole and 90% in the Championship.

"That is too high, that needs to be brought back under control," said Mr Jones.

And the challenging economic environment meant that revenue growth at Premier League clubs was restricted to 3% - leaving it just short of the the £2bn level, at £1.981m.

Meanwhile, Premier League operating profits fell by more than half to £79m, their lowest level since 1999/2000.

Only 10 of the 20 top league clubs made an operating profit in 2008/09, one less than a year before.

And Premier League club's net debt at the end of the 2008/09 season had increased to £3.3bn from £3.2bn the year before.

However, just under half of that was "soft loans" from club owners.

Almost two-thirds, or more than £1.9bn, of the total net debt related to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

TOP PREMIER LEAGUE WAGE BILLS 2008/09
Continue reading the main story Chelsea - £167m (£172m)
Man Utd - £123m (£121m)
Liverpool - £107m (£90m)
Arsenal - £104m (£101m)
Man City - £83m (£54m)
(2007/08 wages in brackets)

Source: Deloitte

Business reporter, BBC News


Page last updated at 23:07 GMT, Monday, 7 June 2010 00:07 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version By Bill Wilson



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10249101.stm

I propose they do a wages band type thing in football, depending how long you have been in the game. The younger lads regardless of how good they are get the lowest and people like Giggs will be the highest earner as they have been in the game on contributed more.

Actually sounds a shit idea when i think about it.

Originally Posted by Skag Trendy

I propose they do a wages band type thing in football, depending how long you have been in the game. The younger lads regardless of how good they are get the lowest and people like Giggs will be the highest earner as they have been in the game on contributed more.

Actually sounds a shit idea when i think about it.

I think they should just legalise muggings and burglaries of footballers so any fan of a team can get what they think is an appropriate amount back.

Originally Posted by Skag Trendy

I propose they do a wages band type thing in football, depending how long you have been in the game. The younger lads regardless of how good they are get the lowest and people like Giggs will be the highest earner as they have been in the game on contributed more.

Actually sounds a shit idea when i think about it.

a club maximum would be a good idea* - you get to spend 100m on wages, so if you want to spend 180k a week on one player you've got less to spend on the rest. so you can have a shit load of good players or a few excellent ones

*it would never work, in the same way that a wage cap wouldn't work. the club would just find ways round it to get the players in - houses bought by the club, cars, school fees etc.

I'd half it. And then half it again.

It only creates #@&%! millionaires.

Originally Posted by forzagarza

I think they should just legalise muggings and burglaries of footballers so any fan of a team can get what they think is an appropriate amount back.

Works for Liverpool so cant see why not. Rio owes a fortune back to fans tbh.

Originally Posted by Jack's Smirking Revenge

a club maximum would be a good idea* - you get to spend 100m on wages, so if you want to spend 180k a week on one player you've got less to spend on the rest. so you can have a shit load of good players or a few excellent ones

*it would never work, in the same way that a wage cap wouldn't work. the club would just find ways round it to get the players in - houses bought by the club, cars, school fees etc.

This is the reason why it will never work.

Every time it gets suggested, people come out and say it will never work blah blah EU law blah blah.

In US it works and works perfectly.

For ex, take lebron james. He is the best player in the league but the teams that can bring him in ( because of salary cap ) are teams that haven't won the league for a long time like new jersey nets or knicks.

But here in football when a world class player leaves a club there are maybe 3 or 4 clubs in the world where he can go.

I would first of all like player transfer system to be completely changed. It should not be based on how much money is given at all. That is the only way when smaller clubs can sign good players.

Originally Posted by Skag Trendy

Works for Liverpool so cant see why not. Rio owes a fortune back to fans tbh.

I might kidnap his mouth and then demand £1million ransom

salary cap kind of works in rugby league

and it has made the league a bit more of an even playing field

the clubs also get to waive a certain percentage of a players wages (50% iirc) when they have been with the club 10 years

I remember seeing Sugar being interviewed not long after he adicated at spurs and him saying that the business models just didn't stack up and weren't sustainable long term

Originally Posted by rafabio

This is the reason why it will never work.

Every time it gets suggested, people come out and say it will never work blah blah EU law blah blah.

In US it works and works perfectly.

For ex, take lebron james. He is the best player in the league but the teams that can bring him in ( because of salary cap ) are teams that haven't won the league for a long time like new jersey nets or knicks.

But here in football when a world class player leaves a club there are maybe 3 or 4 clubs in the world where he can go.

I would first of all like player transfer system to be completely changed. It should not be based on how much money is given at all. That is the only way when smaller clubs can sign good players.

The reason it works in te US is that thosesports are only played in the US, and the NFL/NBA etc are the only governing bodies

As you well know, in Football each nation has its own governing body their FA

In Spain, the govn. made an act of parliament to allow reclassification of land useage just to help Real get a bit of coin for selling a previously non-commercial site (their training ground) as land suitable for commercial development increasing its value by a couple-hundread million!

In Spain the FA/La liga allow clubs to sell their own TV rights meaning Real and Barca earn 10s of times more than clubs in the same league....

If the English FA said 'Oh were going to introduce a salary cap' can you honestly see the Spanish FA saying 'oh go on then we will do the same' or can you see them rubbing their hands with glee that La Liga is gonna be able to attract all the top players from England even more easily


It will never work because it CAN never work unless you have one competition run by a company such as the NFL

a wage cap could be brought in through collective action

or it could be brought in by uefa rule changes regarding competition entry


or it coul dbe brought in by one league, or one club, taking unilateral action

perish the thought eh

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

a wage cap could be brought in through collective action

Which will never happen as the leagues and clubs are too self-serving

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

or it could be brought in by uefa rule changes regarding competition entry

The only real chance imo although can you imagine Real accepting it and not trying to bend the rules

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

or it coul dbe brought in by one league, or one club, taking unilateral action

And all the other leagues/clubs will just offer them more money than the one taking the stance can afford

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

perish the thought eh

Well I'd rather not tbh, but lets get real. This 'ideal world' salary-cap will be far too difficult to implement and enforce

Originally Posted by Mao's Favourite Starling

The reason it works in te US is that thosesports are only played in the US, and the NFL/NBA etc are the only governing bodies

As you well know, in Football each nation has its own governing body their FA

In Spain, the govn. made an act of parliament to allow reclassification of land useage just to help Real get a bit of coin for selling a previously non-commercial site (their training ground) as land suitable for commercial development increasing its value by a couple-hundread million!

In Spain the FA/La liga allow clubs to sell their own TV rights meaning Real and Barca earn 10s of times more than clubs in the same league....

If the English FA said 'Oh were going to introduce a salary cap' can you honestly see the Spanish FA saying 'oh go on then we will do the same' or can you see them rubbing their hands with glee that La Liga is gonna be able to attract all the top players from England even more easily


It will never work because it CAN never work unless you have one competition run by a company such as the NFL

Well, it could happen, if this happened at an EU and UEFA level.

The issue is restraint on trade etc.

I don't know though, I'd guess that even a tempered salary scheme in the Premiership or La Liga would still be able to keep most of the players on really good wages.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

TOP PREMIER LEAGUE WAGE BILLS 2008/09
Continue reading the main story Chelsea - £167m (£172m)
Man Utd - £123m (£121m)
Liverpool - £107m (£90m)
Arsenal - £104m (£101m)
Man City - £83m (£54m)
(2007/08 wages in brackets)

Rafa never got given the resources to compete with the big boys, though. An extra £17m just for wages? The poor dear!

Originally Posted by Mao's Favourite Starling

Which will never happen as the leagues and clubs are too self-serving


probably right. the wage cap wouldn't exactly be low though. and it needn't necessarily be anything to do with the leagues or the clubs. there are PFA's in each country as well don't forget. and each player is also an individual. for example, Wayne Rooney might like to to tell United that 120k a week is more than enough thankyou very much, and provided United continue to do the best by him he would very much like to extend his contract.


The only real chance imo although can you imagine Real accepting it and not trying to bend the rules

the best outcome for every club would be for everyone to follow the rules and for themselves to cheat. the only way this could change would be for the rules to be rigidly monitored and enforced, with severe sanctions applied to the offending club's squad for the following year for example.


And all the other leagues/clubs will just offer them more money than the one taking the stance can afford

again, each player has a mind of his own. then again, they might want to be able to see evidence that by waiving increased payments they aren't simply lining the pockets of others involved in the game who contribute far less to attract the crowds - and the tv money.



Well I'd rather not tbh, but lets get real. This 'ideal world' salary-cap will be far too difficult to implement and enforce

i agree, it seems that way. people have to want it to work in the first instance of course.

isn't there a first teamer at west ham who's on 1k a week? name escapes me.

Originally Posted by Mao's Favourite Starling

The reason it works in te US is that thosesports are only played in the US, and the NFL/NBA etc are the only governing bodies

As you well know, in Football each nation has its own governing body their FA

In Spain, the govn. made an act of parliament to allow reclassification of land useage just to help Real get a bit of coin for selling a previously non-commercial site (their training ground) as land suitable for commercial development increasing its value by a couple-hundread million!

In Spain the FA/La liga allow clubs to sell their own TV rights meaning Real and Barca earn 10s of times more than clubs in the same league....

If the English FA said 'Oh were going to introduce a salary cap' can you honestly see the Spanish FA saying 'oh go on then we will do the same' or can you see them rubbing their hands with glee that La Liga is gonna be able to attract all the top players from England even more easily


It will never work because it CAN never work unless you have one competition run by a company such as the NFL

I wonder how come platini is able to bring this rule about external funding for transfers not being allowed from 2012.... ( upto a certain limit )

Performance related pay. You get £10,000 for every mark out of ten the sun give you. If you dont play you dont get paid and if you consitently get 8/10 you get £80k for every game.

Q. So who benefits from wage caps then?

A. The club owners, as the business makes more profit as its overheads are decreased. So every £1 off Rooney's wages goes straight to Uncle Malc?
Votes in favour please?