The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has perhaps made the past 18 months the most difficult post-war period for elite football clubs in England and around the rest of the world as fans were forced to watch their beloved clubs behind closed doors for the majority of the 2020-21 season, leaving clubs without a large proportion of their yearly revenue.
For many clubs, the 2020-21 season resulted in multi-million-pound losses as the absence of supporters almost all matchday revenue was lost.
And for some clubs, it has been made apparent that there will be a Covid-19 financial hangover, as demonstrated by the summer’s transfer market as plenty of clubs operated with a sell-to-buy strategery as they looked to spend within their means more than ever before.
But despite the financial uncertainty that many Premier League clubs were faced with this summer a handful of top-flight clubs spent handsomely in the window, with Leeds United being one of those.
Only five Premier League clubs had a higher net spend than the Whites this summer as they shelled out £53million on the likes of Daniel James, Junior Firpo and bringing Jack Harrison back to Elland Road on a permanent basis.
However, how does the wealth of majority owner Andrea Radrizzani compare to the rest of the Premier League?
1 – Sheikh Mansour, Manchester City – £15.19bn
Summer 2021 net spend: – £83.88m.
2 – Roman Abramovich, Chelsea – £9.65bn
Summer 2021 net spend: £3.9m profit
3 – Stan Kroenke, Arsenal – £6.31bn
Summer 2021 net spend: -£123.3m
4 – Nassef Sawiris, Aston Villa – £5.39bn
Summer 2021 net spend: £5m profit
5 – Guo Guanghang, Wolves – £4.41b
Summer 2021 net spend: £4.6m profit
6 – Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy, Tottenham – £3.98bn
Summer 2021 net spend: – £30.7m
7 – Glazer family, Manchester United – £3.8bn
Summer 2021 net spend: – £115.3m
8 – Joshua Harris, Crystal Palace – £3.42bn
Summer 2021 net spend: – £51.2m
9 – Gao Jisheng, Southampton – £3.1bn
Summer 2021 net spend: £18.9m profit
10 – Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha and family, Leicester City – £2.96bn
Summer 2021 net spend: – £55.4m
11 – Mike Ashley, Newcastle – £2.6bn
Summer 2021 net spend: – £26.4m
12 – John W Henry and Tom Werner, Liverpool – £2.6bn
Summer 2021 net spend: – £13.9m
13 – Farhad Moshiri, Everton – £1.9bn
Summer 2021 net spend: £5.4m profit
14 – David Sullivan and David Gold, West Ham – £1.56bn
Summer 2021 net spend: – £66.7m
15 – Tony Bloom, Brighton – £1.3bn
Summer 2021 net spend: £0.4m profit
16 – Andrea Radrizzani, Leeds – £450m
Summer 2021 net spend: – £53m
*Numbers calculated as of April 2021 meaning that Burnley’s new ownership, as well as the newly-promoted clubs, haven’t been included.
Despite the Whites being ranked the least wealthy club in the Premier League according to the current data avaible, it has not stopped Andrea Radrizzani from making clear improvements to Marcelo Bielsa‘s squad since they were promoted back to the Premier League in July 2020.
Having recently tied star striker Patrick Bamford down to a new long-term deal at Elland Road it seems that there is no sign of the club’s ambition being hindered by finances.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the club had recorded £62 million loss for the period between 1 July 2019 and 31 July 2020 as they looked to secure a return to the Premier League after a 16-year hiatus.
Although it is yet to be announced what the Whites lost during the 2020/21 Covid-19 affected campaign, however, their spending in recent months, as well as their grand objective to extend Elland Road, bodes well for the financial future of Leeds United.