Former Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu is seen as the main culprit behind the club's dire financial situation // Photo: blaugranagram.com
Soccer is undoubtedly the most commercially oriented sport. Therefore, the accumulation of debts by soccer clubs investing in their development is not out of the ordinary.
Just look at the most commercially successful national championship, the English Premier League, where only three clubs out of 20 ended 2023 (the latest officially released figures) with a zero balance sheet or profit. Total debt exceeded €4.1 billion.
Other leagues worth mentioning are the Spanish (La Liga) and Italian (Serie A) championships. There is no up-to-date data on these leagues, but three clubs in the TOP-5 of the biggest borrowers play in these championships. Let us present in more detail those clubs, which Sport Casting (UK) included in this list.
The biggest debtors in the history of soccer
“Barcelona” tops the list (see table), and the gap from other clubs continues to grow. Moreover, the Blue-Granatas are currently the biggest debtors in the history of soccer.
The financial situation deteriorated rapidly during Josep Bartomeu’s tenure as club president from 2014-2020. Under him, the salaries of top players rose to exorbitant levels. Lionel Messi’s salary alone then exceeded €100 million a year before taxes.
Expenses well in excess of the La Liga limit, reduced assets and lower revenues after the temporary move from the Camp Nou stadium forced the returning president Joan Laporta to apply numerous economic levers to remedy the situation. Thus, the club, in one of the biggest sponsorship deals in soccer, transferred the naming rights to the new stadium, sold some branding rights and stakes in its own studio. It was reported that 24.5% of the Barca Studios brand in 2022 was sold to Socios for €100 million.
Last June, Barcelona sold €424m worth of bonds to restructure the Camp Nou redevelopment debt. This allowed them to move the first payment from 2028 to 2033, which did not affect the Catalans’ overall debt. The club also owes over €600m in deferred wages and transfer fees. Only a small part of this amount is repaid each year, which is not enough to change the situation dramatically.
“Red Devils” in the rabbit hole
The documented debt of English club Manchester United can be divided into three parts: €551 million in long-term bonds, €512 million in outstanding transfer fees and €267 million in short-term loans.
The club’s new owners, represented by international conglomerate INEOS, have publicly stated their intention to reduce the club’s bloated budget, recently removing €3 million that was previously paid to legendary former head coach Alex Ferguson for his role as club ambassador.
Former Red Devils owners, members of the Glazer family, who are now minority shareholders, left behind the debt. It was refinanced but not repaid. “Manchester United” found itself down the rabbit hole of unpaid payments.
Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS openly talked about renovating the Old Trafford stadium. But given the accumulated debt, the €2.3 billion new stadium project looks not just ambitious, but adventurous.
Crammed with loans
Perhaps the shadiest favorite in the English Premier League, Tottenham are in danger of breaching the league’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and losing the ability to acquire new players because of their accumulated debt.
London Spurs have nine tranches of fixed-rate loans, averaging between 2.5% and 3%, as well as a revolving credit line for the construction of the €1.4 billion Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Daniel Levy, who managed the club for 24 years and will stand down in September 2025, has negotiated low interest rates on the loans. However, they have a long term and cannot be repaid early without significant costs. The club will be paying off one of the most impressive loans for the construction of the soccer stadium until it is amortized.
In the 2023/24 financial year, Tottenham’s cash reserves more than halved from €199.3m to €90.4m. As a consequence, net debt rose from €775.4m to €885.5m. The Londoners are also owed €319.5m in transfer fees by other clubs. The situation obliges Tottenham to part with part of its assets.
Stability helps
Inter Milan is the club with the largest debt in Italy. “The Black and Blue are helped by the fact that the club reached the Champions League final twice in the previous three seasons and consistently finishes the Serie A season in high positions.
Last year, Milan redeemed €415 million worth of high-yield (6.75%) media bonds and replaced them with cheaper ones. The bonds purchased by investment company Oaktree are valued at €350 million at 4.5% per annum. Because they don’t own the San Siro stadium and match revenues are low, it will take longer to repay the debt.
Inter also owes other clubs €240 million in transfer fees and €150 million in bank, shareholder loans, taxes and other liabilities.
No stadium – no revenue
The second Italian club in the top five is AS Roma, which is in the process of repaying a number of shareholder loans, bonds and financial leases.
American owner Dan Friedkin, who also controls English side Everton, has done an impressive job of cutting costs and increasing revenue. He has invested €297 million of his own Friedkin Group funds in the Wolves of Rome to cover operating losses. Although this amount is interest-free, it still needs to be repaid or converted into shares.
Complicating the financial situation is the fact that Roma, like the vast majority of Serie A clubs, do not own the stadiums, but lease them from the municipal authorities. Millions of euros of rent are spent annually from the club budget for this purpose. This format of stadium utilization seems to be an efficient way to invest in the short term, but not in the long term. The stadium pays for itself over time, while the club incurs unrecoverable additional costs when renting it.
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TOP-5 soccer clubs by debt (as of 20.02.2026)* |
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№ |
Soccer club |
Debt size |
|
1 |
“Barcelona” |
€2.4 billion |
|
2 |
“Manchester United |
€1.33 billion |
|
3 |
“Tottenham |
€1.3 billion |
|
4 |
“Inter |
€740 million |
|
5 |
“Roma |
€636 million |
| * According to Sport Casting (UK) | ||
