Stoke City posts huge losses as player values plummet

Stoke City have posted huge losses and may, according to reports, be the next club forced to sell their ground to avoid breaching Football League rules.

The Potters made a loss of £88m for the year-ending May 31 2020, with almost half of that sum lost to player write downs.

The club’s wage bill, although down slightly, ran at over £1m a week over the year and at 106% of its revenue.

The club has combined losses of £189m – a figure that is underwritten by Bet365, which lent another £46m over the period.

Under Football League rules, clubs are allowed to record losses of £39m over a three year period. Reports in the Daily Telegraph suggest that one of way of Stoke avoiding a possible points deduction penalty would be to sell its ground, following similar moves by Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham and Reading.

Stoke City finished 14th in the Championship this season. They were relegated from the Premier League in 2018.