West Ham are in for a tough two seasons financially a club source has revealed this morning. In response to our earlier article, a senior source inside the club has suggested that the Hammers could lose as much as £80m this season and another £80m next season as the club has ‘modelled’.
The Hammers made a paper profit of £57m last season which will be wiped out this season with a loss in the other direction
Without European football or significant player sales, the club could lose £160m over the next two years.
Clubs are allowed to lose £105m over three years with the current PSR rules but West Ham could get close to that by the 2026/2027 season with a worst-case net loss of £103m over a three-year period if current models are realised.
PSR rules are likely to be removed before that date, reducing West Ham’s risk, but the club can take nothing for granted.
Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) and Top-to-bottom anchoring (TBA) are due to replace PSR at the start of the 2026/2027 season as it stands.
Squad Cost Rules (SCR): These rules limit a club’s on-pitch spending to 85% of its football revenue (wages & agent fees) and net profit/loss on player sales. This aims to ensure clubs spend within their means and maintain financial sustainability
Top to Bottom Anchoring Rules (TBA): This is a league-level financial anchor linked to football costs, based on a multiple of the forecast lowest central distribution for that season. It is designed to protect the competitive balance of the Premier League by preventing significant revenue divergence among clubs.
Speaking exclusively to Claret and Hugh this morning our senior club source said “This year will be £60/80m loss and next year will be similar. We also have to be aware of the new rule that comes in a year later. It’s a mess juggling between 2 sets of rules”
And here we are with the ‘managing expectations’ articles in full flow.
In short:
1. Ticket prices flying up.
2. Don’t expect much in the way of transfer spend.
Football used to be such a simple game enjoyed by millions every week. Now it’s been ruined by the very rules that were meant to provide financial stability, and you have to be an Accountant just to understand it all. How can West Ham predict a loss of £160 million over the next 2 years when the value of player sales and purchases are unknown?
The huge spending by Chelsea of over €1 billion in 3 transfer windows meant they have spent £3.1 billion in the last 15 years. Man City spent £180 million this window, nearly as much as the other 19 teams added together. In La Liga a total of only €25 million was spent in the whole league and Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletico did not buy a single player. How do these new rules make it fairer for other clubs like ours?. We are supposedly the 17th richest club in the world but now face relying on free transfers and player sales instead of being able to invest in new players. Amortisation was almost unknown 10 years ago, now it seems to be taking over our National game.
Yesterday I went to watch Hashtag United play Folkestone in the Isthmian Premier League, (Tier 7) Hashtag won 5-3. It was a brilliant game, end to end, full of honest totally committed players, plenty of yellow cards, incidents and brilliant entertainment.
I paid £5 for a decent pint of bitter, I could sit a table if I wanted, I could take my pint back to my seat and there was great banter between the fans.
I didn’t get body searched when I went in, I didn’t have to repeatedly show the steward my phone to prove I had legitimate access to my seat. I didn’t have to wait 30 minutes after then end of the game for a barrier to be taken down to walk to where I needed to go and I didn’t get held up by Muppetts with Stop and Go signs. I wasn’t delayed for hours by roadworks or have to pay £12.50 for ULEZ.
Now do I pay another what…£1500 to line a Parasite’s pocket again and be bored shitless or pay £12 per game for a much time and experience??? Hmm tricky one.
It’s rubbish we are one of the richest clubs in the league . The problem was not investing properly last summer . That might have given us Europe hence more income . Proper investment better results better income . No brainier really Mr Sullivan with all respect I’m just a fan ⚒
I’m not a Sullivan fan by any means but he has been putting up many millions for player purchases the last few years. It is not his fault that they haven’t worked out.
The terrible scatter gun approach to player signings has finally caught up with Westham .Over the last 5 years the majority of signings have failed because of being injury prone ( broken donkeys ), unsuited to tactical system ( possession based high line / park the bus and nick a goal ) or unsuited to the high quality required in the Premier League ( crap ) . 100’s of millions wasted with next to nothing recouped . Potter will have to heavily use the academy now so that Westham don’t receive points deductions for PSR violations .Unfortunately there’s going to be several years of just hanging onto Premier League survival . Expect nothing but pain and suffering . Potter has been given the poison chalice that is a broken Westham .
The cost of howlers like appointing Lopetegui and not paying the bit extra for Duran, as well as the general ongoing shambles has to show up somewhere. Will Brighton and Bournemouth have similar issues ?
WHU never take the initiative & take advantage of when they are in a position of strength just like both seasons when we were in the Europa league, both times we did not strengthen in the winter transfer market and fell away badly. Not to mention poor manger appointments. 15 years of suffering Sullivan and counting
The club getting its excuse for the upcoming summer transfer nice and early and getting us all ready for Callum Wilson and other aging injury prone players walking through the door in the transfer window. Wahay it’s great being a hammer
Can the club get creative with their accounting practices like others seem to?