biz-blogger.net

Increasing player wages is threatening the stability of premier league football clubs. During the 2008 to 2009 season clubs spent sixty seven percent of their income on player wages. Chelsea had the highest wage bill at £167 Million while Manchester City’s wage bill went up from £54 Million to £83 Million. During the last 3 years total player wages have increased by £474 Million which is a fifty five percent growth. Only ten out of the twenty clubs in the premier league made an operating profit in the 2008 to 2009 season. The increase in wages will be difficult to reduce due to the length of player contracts which tend to be a minimum of 3 to 4 years. The tightening of credit over the last two years does not make it any easier for clubs. The total club net debt for the premier league premier at the end of the season was £3.3 Billion, two thirds of this debt being linked to Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.