LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The combined pre-tax losses of English Premier League clubs climbed over 600 per cent in the space of one year, according to a new report by leading accountancy firm Deloitte.

Their annual review of football finance found losses among English top-flight sides rose from £135 million ($181 million) in the 2023-24 season to £948 million in 2024-25.

Deloitte attributed the rise to transfer spending and the absence of significant profits from one-off sales. Net debt of Premier League clubs was up to £3.6 billion in 2024-25, compared to £3.5 billion the season before, Deloitte found.

The combined pre-tax losses of clubs in English football’s second-tier Championship rose 12 per cent to £355 million, with only three teams reporting a pre-tax profit in 2024-25, Deloitte found.

Tim Bridge, the lead partner in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, said, “The cumulative financial position and worsening club losses across all three English Football League divisions (the three tiers below the Premier League) underline a continuing trend; one where external funding is now critical to liquidity in the vast majority of cases.”

Talks over a new agreement to created a more equitable split of television revenue between the Premier League and the EFL have foundered since 2024, although the recently-established Independent Football Regulator has the power to impose a settlement if a deal cannot be agreed.

Deloitte found the European football market grew six per cent overall to 40.2billion euros (£34.3 billion) in 2024-25 — the first season featuring UEFA’s newly expanded men’s club competitions.

But Bridge says adding yet more fixtures to an already congested calendar was unlikely to yield greater financial rewards.

“The expansion of UEFA and FIFA competitions has delivered financial benefits across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, but football cannot rely on simply adding more content to deliver sustainable growth,” he said.