Football is a lucrative sport with a lot of financial benefits, but on the other hand, it is expensive to run, especially at club level.
Debt and football always go hand in hand, especially at club level. Clubs regularly owe money to banks, other teams, players, employees, and businesses that provide them with products and services.
Manchester United have the highest short-term debt in the Premier League and the biggest in all of Europe. Barcelona owes around £1.1 billion in total debt, but only about a quarter of it is short-term.
UEFA's 2023 annual European Club Footballing Landscape report is used to rank the teams with the worse debts.
The reports show how the total bank debt of European football has grown by €1.25 billion, a 22% increase on the previous year. Compared to the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, the debt has increased by 51%.
Europe's Top Five leagues alone are owing over €7.5 billion in bank debt as well as €2.5 billion to internal lenders - a total of over €10 billion in liabilities!
Here are the top ten clubs with the most debt in 2023
1. Manchester United 2. Benfica
3. Inter Milan 4. Valencia
5. QPR 6. AC Milan
7. CSKA Moscow 8. Galatasaray
9. Juventus 10. AS Roma
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