By David Owen
March 6 – Liverpool’s staff costs surged through the £300-million mark last season, as the Merseysiders put the finishing touches to the squad that is running away with this year’s Premier League title.
These costs jumped 17.6% from £263.6 million to £309.9 million, putting them in the same ballpark as the Manchester giants. City reported aggregate payroll costs of £315.3 million, while United’s employee benefit expenses for 2018-19 reached £332.3 million.
Worth bearing in mind too is that Liverpool’s May 31 year-end actually predated their Champions League triumph the following day, so it would be little surprise to see another run-up in the Reds’ pay bill when figures are published for the current season.
While the club from Anfield still managed to generate the biggest pre-tax profit among the 12 Premier League outfits who have reported so far, at the operating level, they did little better than break even.
Operating profit stood at only £572,000, with the bulk of the £41.9 million pre-tax figure attributable to a gain of £45.2 million on player disposals. This even though it was a quiet year for player sales, with Dominic Solanke and goalkeeper Danny Ward the biggest money departures.
The buying side of the club’s transfer operations was much busier, with Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Naby Keïta all arriving. This contributed to a sharp increase from £77.1 million to £111.8 million in amortisation.
The cash flow statement shows that £173.9 million went out on player acquisitions, while the club recouped £114.8 million from player sales.
Directors’ remuneration jumped from £2.28 million to £2.88 million. The highest-paid director got £1.76 million, a near 33% hike from the previous year’s £1.33 million.
There was an interest-free intercompany loan of £79.3 million at the May 31 year-end, down from £99.9 million a year-earlier. Secured bank loans, excluding deferred costs, also edged down over the same period from £56 million to £50 million.
It was noted that the August 2019 sale of the Melwood training site to a local housing provider would result in no impairment in 2019-20 financial results. Work on the new Kirkby facility is expected to be completed this coming summer.
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