“Splash the cash” has certainly been the motto of the English Premier League’s biggest clubs in recent years as every summer transfer window sees new spending records get smashed. Then those new records which were just set get broken again the next summer, as the monetary figures we see reported in the news all the time keep skyrocketing.
Television broadcast rights for the game keep increasing exponentially. The same holds true for kit manufacturing deals. Merchandising income keeps going up. As clubs are seeing their income rise, so too has their spending. The biggest clubs have a lot of financial clout to wield, and we see this on multiple fronts, but most glaringly so in the transfer market.
Transfer fees for individual players keep going up and up, with no end in sight. It all poses a very interesting question- how does the world of personal finance compare to the free spending manner of the Premier League? What if debtors, creditors and payday loans direct lenders acted in the manner befitting a football club? The Independent financial comparison service Know Your Money have created an online interactive tool that does exactly that.
John Ellmore, the Director of the firm explained how the tool works: “Whilst we’re excited by the prospect of the Premier League’s return – we think it’d be great if we all thought about our own finances too.”
“That’s why we’ve launched our new interactive tool – Back of the Debt – which helps you to explore the finances of your team and your local area. The tool gives some great insight into where you live and the club you support and put some of the eye-popping financial figures surrounding the Premier League into context.”
It’s pretty easy to use this new tool, just go here and input your postcode and your favorite team, and behold the results; some of which will astonish you. Let’s start right at the top with Manchester United, who Forbes deemed the richest and most financially powerful club in the world.
Under the business leadership of Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward, MUFC also tops the table in club debt with an eye-popping sum of £503 million, however, the residents of the M postcode have even out borrowed them, compiling a total personal debt of £599 million.
Staying in the northwest, but switching over to United’s arch-rival Liverpool, the L postcode has double the amount of debt than the football club headquartered on Anfield Road. The people of the region are leveraged to the tune of £475 million, versus the football club which checks in at £182 million.
For a better example of balanced books, let’s look at Burnley, where the local FC has a debt of…£0! Which is more fiscally solvent than the residents of Burnley’s BB region, who register a total of £265 million in personal debt.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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