Premier League clubs' pre-tax losses surge 600% to £948m in a single season, Deloitte reveals

Premier League clubs recorded a combined pre-tax loss of £948m in 2024-25, a rise of more than 600 per cent from the £135m posted the previous year, according to Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance published this week. Heavy transfer spending and a failure to generate substantial one-off profits from player sales are identified as the principal causes of the dramatic deterioration.

The financial strain is also visible on club balance sheets, with net debt across the top flight climbing to £3.6bn from £3.5bn. The picture is no brighter in the second tier: Championship clubs saw pre-tax losses rise 12 per cent to £355m, with only three clubs managing to turn a profit across the division.

Tim Bridge, lead partner in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, described the situation as structurally serious. “The cumulative financial position and worsening club losses across all three English Football League divisions underline a continuing trend; one where external funding is now critical to liquidity in the vast majority of cases,” he said.

Bridge added that the industry must look beyond short-term fixes: “Upcoming regulatory changes could support future improvements, but the focus must now shift to stronger commercialisation and sustainable growth, or a plan to bridge the gap to the Premier League to unlock the huge amount of value within football at all levels.”

The report lays bare the gulf between England’s top two divisions. The Premier League generated £6.8bn in revenue in 2024-25, while Championship clubs collectively brought in £942m — a figure that actually represented a two per cent decline year on year.

Negotiations over a ‘New Deal’ designed to redistribute television revenue more equitably between the Premier League and the EFL have stalled since 2024. The forthcoming Independent Football Regulator holds backstop powers to impose a settlement should the two parties fail to reach an agreement.

At a European level, the overall football market grew 13 per cent to €40.2bn (£34.3bn) in 2024-25, partly driven by UEFA’s expanded club competitions. However, Deloitte anticipates that revenue growth will plateau and may decline in the years ahead.

Bridge cautioned against treating fixture expansion as a sustainable revenue strategy. “The expansion of UEFA and FIFA competitions has delivered financial benefits across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, but football cannot rely on simply adding more content to deliver sustainable growth,” he said. “An increasingly saturated market may not be good for players or fans, particularly if it weakens the on-pitch spectacle.”