Newcastle United are owed a whopping £61million in transfer payments, according to a football finance blogger.
Swiss Ramble, the award-winning blogger, has analysed United’s recently published annual results that show the fees due to the club from players they have sold in recent windows.
It is explained that Newcastle also owe £25million of transfer fees to selling clubs, while their £61million has a major impact on Rafael Benitez’s recruitment budget.
#NUFC used to pay all transfer fees upfront, but now owe £25m. On the other hand, they are owed a mighty £61m by other clubs, which the board is at pains to emphasise has an impact on Rafa Benitez’s transfer budget, as the cash is not immediately available.
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) May 24, 2018
OPINION
The revelation by Swiss Ramble demonstrates the stark reality of living in the shark-invested waters of modern transfers. Big-money recent sales such as Moussa Sissoko and Georginio Wijnaldum look great on paper, but the reality is that the deals were only done when Newcastle agreed for the payments to be split into instalments. It was not just a matter of banking £30million from Sissoko’s move to Tottenham and having the money to beef up the squad the following window. Supporters will be hugely concerned that Benitez’s own spending plans this summer will be affected by the £30million owed. Newcastle are in major need of reinforcements, particularly in the centre-forward, wide attacking midfield and full-back positions, and the sooner they can get to business the better. Not that the club are squeaky clean themselves, as they owe £25million on transfers after abandoning their previous policy of paying all fees up front.
