As Everton await the verdict on the latest charges over their spending by the Premier League, their finances for 2022/23 have revealed the scale of the issue.
Having been docked 10 points for breaches of the Premier League‘s profit and sustainability rules, Everton saw this reduced to six by appeal in February.
But that came with more charges looming over them for a second instance of overspending, with Nottingham Forest also charged at the start of the year.
Forest were subsequently docked four points by an independent commission, with their verdict coming weeks before any decision would be made over Everton.
Everton are expected to learn of any further punishment this week, with there a strong chance that they are facing another points deduction.
Sunday saw the Merseyside club report their accounts for 2022/23, with a statutory loss of £89.1 million recorded for the season.
Everton publish 22/23 accounts: ? figs
Revenue £172m ?? 5%
Wages £159m ?? 2%
Amortisation £77m ?? 23%
Manager/coaching payoff £7m
Executive payoff £2.5m
Loss pre player sales £130m
Pre tax loss £89m
Player signings £91m
Player sales £61m
Borrowings £341m— Kieran Maguire (@KieranMaguire) March 31, 2024
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has therefore highlighted that Everton‘s losses over the last three seasons stand at £255 million.
Per the Premier League‘s profit and sustainability rules, clubs are permitted losses of up to £105 million over any three-season period.
The current charges against Everton relate to the period of 2020/21 to 2022/23, which means that they have exceeded their spending limits by £150 million.
Their previous breaches came for the period of 2019/20 to 2021/22, during which they lost £305.5 million, with an overlap with the latest charges a major factor in the club’s defence.
Nevertheless, Everton are proven to have continued to overspend in the eyes of the Premier League, and could be docked again.
Any appeal process, if the club made one, would need to be resolved before the end of the season, meaning points deductions could have a significant impact on the relegation battle.
Everton are currently 16th, three points above Luton in 18th and only 10 points from bottom-placed Sheffield United.
The club’s wage bill of £159 million took away 92.4 percent of their overall revenue for 2022/23, while the suspension of deals relating to investor Alisher Usmanov cost the club £20 million.
With the real threat of relegation over Everton in these final months of the campaign, Liverpool’s trip to Goodison Park on April 24 could, realistically, mark the last Merseyside derby for at least a year.
