Premier League clubs owe £3.1bn

The scale of the debts affecting Premier League clubs has become apparent after it emerged that they owe more than £3bn between them. The Guardian reports that according to the latest financial information teams in the division have a combined debt of £3.1bn in overdrafts, loans and other borrowings.

Off the pitch as well as on it the big four are out in front. Manchester United and Chelsea owed £699m and £701m respectively according to their last published accounts. Arsenal had £416m debts and Liverpool reportedly owe £280m - but their accounts are overdue.

United's situation is largely down the the decision of the clubs owners, the Glazer family, to load their other debts onto the club. Chelsea's debt is entirely owed to Roman Abramovich, although he has apparently reduced the amount to £340m in return for more shares in the club.

Liverpool are in a similar situation to United thanks to their American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett (above), who borrowed heavily to buy the club. At Arsenal the debts are mainly the result of building the new Emirates Stadium and turning Highbury into flats.

The smaller clubs are not immune from debts and 15 of the 20 clubs in the division last season had to be subsidised by their owners.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
David Conn, the Guardian: "The 20 clubs' accounts show that despite booming incomes, which include the first season of a record £2.7bn TV deal which runs from 2007-10, Premier League clubs increasingly rely on subsidies from the billionaires who now mostly own the clubs. Manchester United's takeover may have resulted in huge sums going out of the club in interest payments, but 15 of the 20 clubs in last season's top flight are now subsidised by owners. After Abramovich, the next highest contribution came from Mohamed Al Fayed, whose interest free loans to Fulham increased to £174m." ·