Add BBN on 2BAFB965
-Azeez Mustapha

Most soccer fans who watch their favourite team play focus their attention on the club's history and the robust nature of the trophy cabinet of the team.
We must however understand that the game is not played solely on the football field, so football fans should also take into cognisance the club's popularity rating,Club's valuation, not forgetting the debt burden of the club.

BlackBox Nigeria explores the most indebted clubs in world football and it would surprise many that Arsenal despite the fact that they don't spend much on signing player or paying huge salaries find themselves as one of the tops on this list with a debt burden of $384 million.

TOP 10 CLUB WITH MOST DEBT
10.) Borussia Dortmund -$ 82 Million

Despite winning the the German league, making it to the final of Europe's premier competition and being runners-up in the last four years, the club still has a debt burden of $82 million. Interestingly, the club is valued at $456 million, so the debt burden of the club accounts for 18% of the total valuation of the club. However, the worst situation the club have found themselves was when they could not afford to pay its team and had to borrow money from rival clubs Bayern Munich to pay players salary.

9.) Juventus -$83 Million

Arguable the most successful club in Italy, the old Ladies have registered three consecutive league Seria A titles but their champions league performance in recent memory has not been encouraging. The new Juventus stadium, which is one of the only two club owned stadiums in Italy contributed the chunk of the club's debt burden, having costed the club whooping $163 million. It is also noteworthy to understand that the $83 million debt accounts for 12% of the total value of the club but Juventus is set to pocket match day revenue in the region of $102 million while other teams pay local councils for the use of their stadium.

8.) Liverpool -$110 million

One of the most successfully clubs in England finds themselves on the list of the most indebted clubs in the world of soccer. One can not analyze the debt burden of the club without taking into cognisance the court order that forced the former owners Tom Hicks and Goerge Gillets Jr to sell the club to Fenway Sports Group(FSG) in 2010. This was as a result of the petition by a group of their creditors including th
e royal bank of Scotland against the former owner regarding a debt in the tune of $573 million. It is however safe to say that the debt burden of the club that comprises 17% of the clubs overall value was inherited from the previous owners.

7.) Queens Park Rangers -$145 millon

Following their relegation from the English top flight, the Club lost a major source of finance. The club had to pay players whom they have acquired on inflated wages and in some cased loaned them out to reduced their wage bill. The fact that they have had to pay off two managers in the last three years explain why they find themselves in this unfamiliar territory.


6.) Barcelona -$156 million  


Will it not surprise you that a club of this stature, having enjoyed success in both domestic and continental fronts in recent memory and also house a four-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi find themselves on number 6 on the list of debtors. It is not common knowledge that the club is owned and controlled by supporters but this is quite surprising for a club which have been described as the best in the world in recent times. Unlike their Spanish rivals; Real Madrid, Barcelona don't have a history of spending huge sum of money to sign quality player,most of their key players are graduates of Al mesia, their youth academy but the wage bill of the club is their bottleneck because it takes a chunk of their budget to keep their quality players at the club. The club is valued at $2.6 billions dollars and the debt burden comprises 6% of their valuation.

5.) Real Madrid $156 million

The rich also cry! That's the only explanation for having the most valuable soccer team in the world on the debtors list. It has been alleged that several Spanish banks lend out money to Real madrid to fund their big money transfer. Like their fierce rival, Real Madrid is also operated and owned by club members. The club is the most valuable soccer team with its $156 million debt comprising just 5% of its total valuation of $3.3 billion.

4.) Bolton Wanderers -$267 million

There are speculations from different sources that the club could soon be declared bankrupt because it depends solely on personal investments of Club chairman Eddie Davies. The club played in the English top division for ten seasons and were relegated at the end of the 2011/12 premier league season losing out of the $4.92 billion television right deal. The club is in this very dangerous situation because they are not playing in the top flight. They pay huge salaries to players and their wage burden is increasing.

3.) Valencia -$374 million


The situation of the Spanish outfit is always obvious, considering the fact that they have a tradition of selling their stars. Juan Mata, David Villa and David Silva all left to balance the book. The club enjoyed huge success at the start of the century winning two league titles and playing in the Champions League final for two consecutive seasons. Their massive debt led to the suspension of construction work at their new stadium and so the team has continued to play their home game at the Mestalla stadium.

2.) Arsenal -$384 million

Despite the fact that the club is expected to rake in a whooping $480 million from match day revenue at the 60,000 capacity Emirate stadium, the club still has to deal with a debt burden that comprises an unbelievable 29% of its total valuation of $1.326 billion. The club led by Arsene Wenger's football philosophy doesn't spend money on expensive signing as other top clubs do but the club has struggled to maintain its financial strength since the construction of the Emirate stadium.


1.) Manchester United -$569 million

Yeah, your guess is as good as mine because the world most supported club incidentally happens to be the most indebted club. The Glazer family obtained so much debt from acquiring loans from various banks to ensure their complete takeover of the club in 2005 against the clubs asset. The $569 million comprises 18% of the total value of the club, pegged at $3.165 billion puts the English most successful side at the very top of debtors list as gathered by BlackBox Nigeria.