January 12 – Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion have reported a loss of £54.4 million on turnover of about £247 million for the 2024/25 season.
The club attribute the loss to player trading that saw a profit of £68.1 million in the 2023/24 season turn into a £25 million loss last season.
The club spent about £210 million on new players in coach Fabien Hurzeler’s first season. That resulted in a player amortisation cost (the spreading of the transfer fee across the length of the contract) of £39.8 million.
The club stated that the current accounts did not include sales last summer, including Joao Pedro (£60 million to Chelsea), Simon Adingra (£21 million to Sunderland), Julio Enciso (undisclosed to Strasbourg) and Pervis Estupinan (undisclosed to AC Milan).
Brighton built a profit of £73.3 million in the 2023-24 season, and a record £122.8 million in 2022-23. Once 2024-25 player sales are taken account the 2025-26 financial results should see a return to profit.
The accounts don’t have detailed revenue breakdowns but do give a broader indication of the financial year. While turnover decreased 0.1%, administration and operating costs rose 7.7%. Operational profit before ‘football costs’ decreased 5.4% while ‘football costs’ (the bulk of which will be player wages) grew by 14.9%. No wages-to-turnover ratio (the general benchmark of the health and sustainability of the business) was given.
Chairman Tony Bloom stated in his accounts statement that the financial results “reflect another year of progress both on and off the pitch for the club.
“Under Fabian Hurzeler – who became the Premier League’s youngest head coach upon his appointment in June 2024 – we finished eighth, the second-highest league position in our history.
“Women’s head coach Dario Vidosic, appointed in July 2024, led the team to a record-breaking fifth-place finish in the Women’s Super League – another outstanding achievement.”
The 2024-25 season didn’t see Brighton play in European, but Bloom stated that the experience of playing in the Europa League in 2023-24 had ignited an ambition for regular European competition.
“When we entered the Premier League in 2017 our primary objective was to stay in the league. In 2019, we established our vision to become an established top-ten Premier League team and for our women’s team to finish regularly in the top four of the WSL,” stated Bloom.
“As part of Vision 2030, we have reassessed our ambitions. We enjoyed our first season in European competition and aim to push regularly for European qualification – while of course striving to win the first major trophy in our history.”
At the weekconclude Brighton beat Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford to relocate into the last 32 of the FA Cup. They are currently 11 in the Premier League, four points off a European qualification slot.
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