by muirinho »
08 Aug 2018 16:07
Elm Park Kid muirinho One87One
This is dated season 16/17 fwiw.
Yes, the 2mill interest is also 16/17. If, as suggested, it was on money lent by the Chinese, who didn't own the club at that point, maybe we are no longer paying that level of interest now that they own the club
(i.e., interest free loans from them, like wot SJM did)
We'll see, when the figures for 17/18 come out.
It's really difficult to judge the finances of a privately owned club. These interest payments could simply be a form of tax avoidance for the owners. Whether we are in 'debt' and buy how much isn't actually relevant to how much we have to spend on players; it's entirely at the discretion (and bankroll) of the owners.
Agreed - it's all smoke and mirrors. However, if they are worried about FFP, one way of making less of a loss is making loans interest free, and writing off loans.
Another is giving a player you fully intend to keep for 2 years, a 4 year contract, so that his purchase price is spread over a longer period. Obviously if you overpay, and then can't shunt him onwards after the 2 years, you're in trouble - but that's a problem for 2 years time, rather than now.
So worth looking out for long contracts for new players for clubs that you suspect might be in FFP trouble.