May 13 – One of Bulgaria’s most historic clubs, PFC Beroe has been officially denied a professional license for the upcoming season following the release of a catastrophic 2025 financial audit. Despite a period of aggressive squad transformation and an influx of foreign talent, the club’s balance sheet, as reported by the club’s auditors, shows it is trading insolvently.
The audit shows that as of December 31, 2025, Beroe’s accumulated losses have ballooned to a staggering €4,884,500 with the club recording a loss of over €1.15 million in the last year alone.
Perhaps most shocking is the club’s current liquidity; despite having total liabilities of €3,268,000 the Greens have just €3,500 in available cash, leaving them unable to cover basic daily operations without external help.
The financial ruin appears to be a direct by-product of a chaotic transfer policy that saw dozens of players from Spain and South America join the club. This internationalization led to a suspicious explosion in costs, with expenditures for external services (including agents) tripling to €1.1 million and “other expenses” skyrocketing from €122,000 to nearly €1.4 million.
The independent auditor was forced to issue a “qualified opinion” on the report, stating they could not verify the accuracy of these costs or certain revenues, suggesting a lack of transparency regarding agent commissions and intermediary fees.
With negative equity exceeding €2 million and a heavy reliance on €1.25 million in loans from related parties, the auditor officially warned of “substantial uncertainty” regarding the club’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Without a professional license and facing a mountain of debt, Beroe now stands on the precipice of demotion to the amateur leagues or total liquidation, marking one of the darkest chapters in the history of Stara Zagora football.
The club released an official statement denying all information regarding financial difficulties, and confirmed that it has appealed the decision of the Bulgarian Football Union to refuse a professional license.
A club statement said: “In response to the false and misleading statements that have appeared in certain sports journals and television channels, PFC Beroe – Stara Zagora declares the following:
“It is inadmissible that media outlets give space and a platform to individuals with no proven credibility, no relevant track record, and no real knowledge of the club, allowing them to shamelessly speak about the current management and supposed debts. These people have neither the moral nor the professional right to comment on the situation of PFC Beroe.
“We wish to inform our loyal fans that, to date, the indisputable liabilities of the Club amount to less than EUR 353,000. These obligations are being properly serviced and have already been repaid or will be settled in a very short time.
“The repeatedly circulated figure of 10 million EUR in liabilities is the result of financial illiteracy or a malicious reading of the audited financial statements of PFC Beroe – Stara Zagora, which are publicly available.
“The accumulated balance sheet losses from the Club’s economic activity as of 31.12.2025 amount to BGN 9,769,000 (approx. EUR 4,994,810). The majority of these losses do not represent current obligations; they are historical and were inherited by the current sole owner. For comparison, as of 31.12.2022 the accumulated losses stood at BGN 5,728,000 (approx. EUR 2,929,000).
“The management of PFC Beroe – Stara Zagora is fully determined to reduce these accumulated losses and improve the financial standing of the Club. We count on the support of our fans and the local community of Stara Zagora to achieve this goal.”
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at [email protected]