Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has delivered a damning verdict on West Ham’s latest set of accounts during an interview with Hammers Chat.
Maguire sat down with my partner in crime Geo to go through the Hammers’ finances with a fine-tooth comb and confirmed what many supporters had already suspected.
“It’s a bit scary,” he admitted.
According to Maguire, West Ham currently owe £196 million in transfer fees, while being owed just £3.9 million from other clubs — largely because the Hammers have already cashed in on future instalments from previous player sales.
“The net position as far as player trading is concerned is a bit scary,” Maguire explained.
West Ham Losing £2 Million Per Week
The full interview can be viewed below, but Maguire also highlighted a series of worrying financial trends.
“Well, the money coming into the business is 15–16% down, the wage bill’s up 9%, your rent’s up 20% and your player costs — or the equivalent — are up 19%.
“The money coming in has gone down and the money going out has gone up a lot. That’s concerning for any business.”
The Price of Football presenter and BBC football finance commentator did not sugar-coat the situation.
“West Ham have reported losses of around £2 million a week. It’s grim reading.”
That said, Maguire was keen to stress the situation would not necessarily be Armageddon if the club were relegated.
While dropping into the Championship would mean an immediate £70 million reduction in television revenue, West Ham still possess valuable assets within the playing squad which could be sold to soften the financial blow.
But make no mistake about it — after examining the numbers in detail, there was precious little comfort offered by the football finance expert.
Impossible!! We have Lady Brady from the BBCs Apprentice running the show. She knows her stuff.. she will come up with a plan to save the club for us ‘customers’.