How the beautiful game blew £4bn
SOCCER clubs spent £4bn on player transfers and wages from 1996 to 2002 in a spending spree that some pundits say will never be repeated.
The Premier League has consolidated its position as the wealthiest in the world, but the
2001/02 season was the end of an era, says consultant Deloitte & Touche in its annual review of football finance.
Clubs spent £407m on transfers in that season. Premier League clubs accounted for £323m, with salaries in the top flight climbing 26%.
But Deloitte says the figure for transfers will have fallen by up to 50% by this year. It says the current cash squeeze has ushered in a new era of performance-related pay.
'The balance has now shifted away from player power,' said Deloitte and Touche Sport director Dan Jones. 'In financial terms players who were viewed as assets to be protected on long-term contracts to ensure resale value are now viewed as liabilities - a contractual commitment to be met regardless of the player's and club's performances.
'Players will still earn very good money but we will see performance-related pay with contracts tied to promotion, relegation and even Champions League qualification.'
Manchester United and Arsenal were the biggest spenders on wages in 2001/02, £69.9m and £61.4m respectively. United also topped the table in transfer spending in the six seasons up to 2002 with £99m.
Leeds were next (£91m) and then Chelsea (£84m), Liverpool (£81m) and Tottenham (£53m). Arsenal's net spending on transfers was £24m, less than Manchester City's (£32m).
Total revenue in the 2001/02 season - cash from areas such as TV broadcasting rights, gate receipts and shirt sales - rose 21% to £1.13bn. That's more than France and Germany put together. In the ten years since the Premier League was formed turnover has risen seven-fold. The taxman's take last year rose 21% to £536m.
