Athletic Will Post €25 Million Deficit This Year Following Pandemic
Aitor Elizegi’s first full season as president will end with a financial challenge (EC)
Athletic has been one of football’s best run clubs over the past decade. The last time the Basques finished a year with a deficit was at the end of the 2010/2011 season when the club was €10 million in the red, but that was followed by Josu Urrutia being elected as president and the finances quickly began to boom.
Through organized growth, regularly competing in Europe, and income from a handful of sales, Athletic’s revenue began to skyrocket. Since 2011 the club has brought in a surplus of €263 million and was even able to establish an Extraordinary Fund in case of emergencies. Unfortunately, the impressive run will come to an end this year.
As a result of the pandemic Athletic will post a deficit of at least €25 million for the 2019/2020 season, per Juanma Velasco of Marca. In fact, the losses could be as high as €35 million, but the final number remains to be seen. The financial impact will be slightly lessened by the first team agreeing to temporarily lower wages, which will save the club roughly €5 million.
Back in October the Socios approved a budget of €132 million for this season with an estimated surplus of roughly €125,000. Fortunately, Athletic’s Extraordinary Fund is available to help manage the financial impact, but the club has yet to make any statements about whether or not that money will be used to offset the losses. Aitor Elizegi now faces his first massive challenge as Athletic president.