Arsenal fifth riches club in the world

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16951878

Just read the news on BBC. What does that mean for us? We were the fifth richest last year too.

Does anyone know what is Arsenal's outstanding debt?

Can anyone also explain why cant we spend more money on players or pay higher wages?

fkamil wrote:

Can anyone also explain why cant we spend more money on players or pay higher wages?

Then we wouldn't be fifth richest anymore would we?

The teams are ranked according to the revenue generated and assets owned hence the reason you don't see the likes of Man City and Chelsea very high on that list.
And being a rich club does not necessarily translate into a big transfer budget, the board have allocated a percentage of our profits to fund new player signings though I imagine it is not much.

Sami Rockfeller wrote:The teams are ranked according to the revenue generated and assets owned hence the reason you don't see the likes of Man City and Chelsea very high on that list.
And being a rich club does not necessarily translate into a big transfer budget, the board have allocated a percentage of our profits to fund new player signings though I imagine it is not much.

About £2.86 at the moment pmsl...

Arsenal’s CEO Ivan ‘the slippery’ Gazidis has spoken in a lengthy interview with the clubs official website and ArsenalPlayer, and has delved into the finances of the club up to November 20111, and admits the club currently has a balance of £115 million at the half year -wonder how much out of that we’ll receive in transfer funds next season?

But here we go, you can read his full interview here:

Ivan, what is your assessment of the financial results?

“First and foremost, I think it is important to acknowledge that the most important thing for this football club, the most important thing for our fans and the most important thing for the Board and people that work at the Club is how we do on the pitch. The reason we talk about financial results at all, twice a year, is that we are very transparent and publish our accounts, and because it is the finances that provide the platform for the on-field success. We are healthy from a financial standpoint. All of the money that the Club generates is available to be reinvested into the Club and into the team. That is why these financial figures are important but I would never want to say that they are the most important thing. They are not, they are the platform for what we want to do on the field.”

How much of the funds are available to the manager?

“We have a healthy cash balance of £115 million at the half year, but it is important to understand that not all of this money is available to spend on transfers. The reason for that is that we have running costs during the year. We get a lot of our money up front from season ticket renewals. We have running costs at the Club; the players’ salaries and so on. So that amount goes down during the year. At the same time, we also have to keep some in reserve in case things do not go our way. But having said all of that, there is money available. We do not talk about an exact figure and there is a very good reason why – because it would impact our negotiating position with other clubs and that would mean that we would not be able to do what we want to do as efficiently as we want to do it. But we do have money that is available. We have to invest efficiently, we have to do it sensibly as we do not have the kind of money that other clubs have. But we have enough I believe, if we do it well, to be able to compete at the very highest levels of the game. We have a manager who has a fantastic track record over time of getting those types of decisions mostly right.”

Will the situation change if we fail to qualify for Champions League next season?

“The most important aspect of the Champions League is the sporting one and that is what the Club is focused on. We have a fantastic record in the Champions League, we have been there 14 years and in the last 12 years we have qualified out of the Group Stage. So it is a really good, consistent record of success and there is an expectation around the Club that we are in that competition every year. At the same time, we cannot gear our entire financial model around that expectation because that would place the Club in jeopardy if we did not qualify. So we have always got to keep something in reserve in case things do not go our way and I can assure fans that we would be able to be resilient and reinvest in the squad if things didn’t go our way and we did not end up qualifying for the Champions League so that we get back into the competition in the following year.”

Will failure to qualify for the Champions League impact keeping and attracting players?

“First of all we are very focused on qualifying for the Champions League next year. That is a priority now and I still remain confident that we will be able to do that. I know that the players are incredibly dedicated to that cause and you will see their commitment coming through for the rest of the season. In terms of players selecting clubs based on the Champions League, I think there are very few clubs in the world you would go to ahead of Arsenal in terms of consistently being there. So I do not believe it affects our ability to attract top players and in fact, our Champions League record is a fantastic advertisement for this Club and a reason to come here. The fact that we have a healthy financial platform means that we can continue, as we look forward, to consistently be competing at the very top of the game and in the Champions League looking forward as well. I do not see this adversely affecting our ability to attract players or retain the top players that we have.”

Some fans have been questioning why the Club are not spending big?

“As I said, we do spend all of the money we generate and we do invest it in the squad. This past summer we spent £75 million on new signings and contracts for current players, signing players likeAlex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mikel Arteta, Andre Santos, Gervinho and others. We have to be efficient in the way that we spend our money because we do not have the kind of money to spend that some of our competitors are currently spending in the marketplace. That means we have got to be very thoughtful about it and we have to spend sensibly but we will certainly spend the money that we have. We have a manager who has got a terrific track record over time. That does not mean that we get every decision right – we don’t – but we do get the majority of them right and that has been one of the secrets of Arsenal’s success over a long period of time. As I have said, we will spend the money that the Club generates on our playing staff and the better we can do that, the more efficiently we can do that, the better we can manage our playing pool and the more successful we will be. I am convinced we have the funds to be able to compete at the top of the game. Football is moving in this direction. Football clubs are moving towards more sustainable models, UEFA is mandating that they do that, they are doing it anyway and you see the results when some clubs live outside their means. It can be disastrous. We feel that as we look forward in the next five years or so, Arsenal’s development will be very positive providing that we can do the job well in terms of how we use the money that we have to invest.”

There’s a lot of external noise around the team and the manager at the moment. What’s your view on this?

“Well, we hear the noise and we understand the concerns of the fans. We know there are issues and we know we are not where we want to be. But I can tell you that the manager and the players are absolutely united behind what we have to do before the end of the season, which is to finish in the top four. That is not out of our hands in fact it is very much in our hands. We have had unbelievable support from our travelling fans – they have been to Sunderland and Milan just last week. Our supporters have put aside the questions, put aside the doubts and put aside the differences of opinion and got behind the team. If that can happen between now and the end of the season, I know that we can achieve Champions League qualification for next year, we can rebuild and regroup in the summer and come back strong next year. That will come through ‘victory through harmony’. The strength of this Club has always been its unity. Our fans and our players need to come together for this fight until the end of the season.”

http://arsenal-news.com/arsenal-ceo-ivan-gazidis-gives-a-lengthy-interview-on-the-clubs-current-finances/2897

Anyone have any idea with all the profits(from player sales) that we make every year. How long till the stadium is paid off? surely we should have it payed off well in advance of what was planned? Or are our profits not being put into stadium debt?

This article only provides part of the picture. It doesn't include debts and stadium debt.

Soccernet Article - Arenal 6 month finances

Jason Morrison wrote:Anyone have any idea with all the profits(from player sales) that we make every year. How long till the stadium is paid off? surely we should have it payed off well in advance of what was planned? Or are our profits not being put into stadium debt?

Cannot remember where I see it Jason but I do believe the stadium debt to be just below 90m..gonna search for it tonight when I get in from work.

The final payment I believe is due in 2020.

I do believe if we pay off the debt ahead of time there is a fine to be payed because of the interest the debt would have accumulated by 2020. Someone with more knowledge of finances can correct me if I'm wrong

If thats true Marko, that makes no sense to me in the slightest.

I know. It baffles me too, but I recall reading it off the Group discussion board. Unfortunately I don't have a link.

MarkoMaksimovic wrote:I do believe if we pay off the debt ahead of time there is a fine to be payed because of the interest the debt would have accumulated by 2020. Someone with more knowledge of finances can correct me if I'm wrong

With the model arsenal have set themselves and from what I have read elsewhere I would belive that they would pay the payments to the debt....for what amounts it is and the fact we are paying it just fine to pay it early and incur charges would be a big no....would be a waste of money and I could not see them doing it..