Leicester City has announced a club-record loss for the 2021/22 season. The sum is over three times that of the previous year’s loss (£31.2m), but it is abnormally high due in part to the Covid epidemic, which compelled the majority of the season to be played behind closed doors. Leicester also did not sign a big-name player during the period, with the transfer of Wesley Fofana to Chelsea last August for more than £70 million due to appear in the club’s records next year. Leicester’s owners were prepared for such a significant deficit and made a deliberate decision to raise their losses while increasing investment in the squad.
“Following consecutive fifth-place finishes in the Premier League (2019/20 and 2020/21) and the lifting of our first FA Cup, the club kept its primary playing assets while making further big expenditures in player purchases and salaries for the first time in our history (2021),” Leicester City said in a statement. “This approach was the principal reason for the club’s pre-tax loss of £92.5 million for the year (2021: £31.2 million loss), with the retention of the club’s key playing assets negating the profit generated by player sales during the year.”
This resulted in the team spending £23 million on Patson Daka, £17 million on Lille’s Boubakary Soumare, and roughly £15 million on Southampton’s Jannick Vestergaard, as well as a large rise in the squad’s overall salary cost. In a big expression of commitment from the owners, Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha relieved the club of its outstanding £194m debt in December.
“We have consistently strived to invest in the club’s future and to expand from established positions of strength during our 12 years as King Power owners,” Leicester chief executive Susan Whelan said. “King Power’s constant support for the club puts us in a strong position to capitalize on our opportunities. But, in order to remain consistent with the game’s regulations both domestically and in Europe – where we want to compete often – our ongoing investment strategy must continue to reflect our underlying revenue trajectory. Our long-term goal is to achieve this through on-field success, commercial growth, and the extension of our stadium and the development of the surrounding masterplan.”
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