Real Madrid debt far higher than club admit, claims fans’ group
REAL Madrid have been accused of misleading their supporters over the club’s debt levels and operating an inefficient business by a group representing the Spanish team’s members.
The Asociacion por los Valores del Madridismo (Association for Madrid Values) says the club’s total debt is €541m (£457m), not the €91m (£77m) reported by Real president Florentino Perez last month.
Domestic rivals Barcelona this week announced their debts stood at €331m (£279m), while Premier League champions Manchester United’s total £389m.
Real spent heavily during the summer transfer window, including the world record £85.3m purchase of Wales winger Gareth Bale from Tottenham, a figure dubbed “scandalous” by the members’ group’s president Carlos Mendoza.
He also questioned the club’s consideration of plans to redevelop their Santiago Bernabeu stadium, a move that would likely require further borrowing.
Real boast the highest revenue of any club in the world, in football or any other sport.
For 2012-13 it was a record €521m (£439m). That figure was only a 1.3 per cent increase on the previous year but did help generate profits after tax of €37m (£31m), an increase of 52.4 per cent.