The Premier League charged Leicester City last month with an alleged PSR breach.
Leicester City, Leeds United’s promotion rivals, have declared a pre-tax deficit of nearly £90 million in their latest accounts. The records cover the 2022-23 season, which saw the Foxes demoted to the Championship, and come just a few weeks after the Premier League penalized the club with an alleged violation of the league’s current Profit and Sustainability guidelines.
Top flight clubs are allowed to lose up to £105 million over three years in the top division. Leicester’s losses last season alone was £89.7 million, bringing their cumulative losses over the prior three years to more than £215.
What happens next remains to be seen, but Leicester will be able to benefit from add-backs, which include spending on the club’s academy and women’s team, but this could put them in violation of the rules, risking a points deduction next season, regardless of league.
The Foxes did sell players last season, including Wesley Fofana and James Maddison, but they also paid out £206 million in wages, one of the highest wage bills outside of the big six. Relegation was also costly, not just in terms of Premier League prize money, with revenue of £177 million representing a 17% drop from the previous year.
“After a sustained period of growth and success for the club during the last decade, the 2022-23 season was a significant setback, the consequences of which will be felt for some time,” Susan Whelan, the club’s chief executive, said.
“We must now focus on rebuilding and returning to the Premier League.
“Having finished fifth, sixth, and eighth in the Premier League in the previous three seasons, our aims and budgets for 2022-23 were quite acceptable.
“However, for a club such as ours, whose sustained sporting achievements have justified the levels of investment required to compete with the most established clubs and pursue our ambition, a season of such significant under-performance on the pitch presents financial challenges, particularly from the perspective of the game’s current Profitability and Sustainability rules.”
The EFL also took action against Leicester last month, imposing a transfer ban. The Foxes issued a series of belligerent remarks, revealing that they had initiated legal action against both regulating organizations.
