Newcastle United could be in trouble with UEFA after a new report shared their operating losses for the last three years.
The Champions League is back, and the Magpies’ involvement in the competition was confirmed thanks to their fifth-place Premier League finish in the 2024/25 campaign.
Newcastle United welcome Barcelona to St James’ Park for their first game back in Europe following a year away, a brilliant game for fans to get excited about. The fans will surely be loud, and the players will definitely be up for it, so there could be another memorable night in store on Thursday.
David Beckham has backed Newcastle in the Champions League, saying nobody should write Eddie Howe’s side off before a ball has been kicked.
While final preparations are being made for Thursday, a new report has revealed financial trouble for the Magpies after three years of heavy losses.
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Newcastle United set for UEFA financial penalty after losses
Newcastle struggled with PSR during the summer of 2024, being made to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to avoid a points deduction.
Howe regretted selling Anderson, and it looks like the decision has bitten Newcastle in the back even more. In a fascinating deep dive on The Athletic, it was revealed that Newcastle’s pre-tax loss was £38.1m, significantly higher than the £11m loss which was recorded in the accounts and Premier League PSR submissions.
That increase stemmed from UEFA insisting Newcastle reduce player sale profits by just over £30m. The governing body ruled that the sale of Anderson to Nottingham Forest was effectively a swap deal for Odysseas Vlachodimos, while Allan Saint-Maximin’s move to Al Ahli was reduced to nil profit.
Newcastle’s losses from the 2022/23 season were also increased, taking their losses for the first two years of the 2022-25 assessment cycle to a staggering £122m. There is little chance they avoided a loss in the 2024/25 season, so The Athletic have projected Newcastle to have breached UEFA’s three-year loss limit, and will face a financial penalty.
Newcastle United projected to pass UEFA’s squad cost ratio
While Newcastle have clearly breached the football earnings rule, it is a different story for the squad cost rule.
UEFA states that squad spending is capped at 70% of revenue in an attempt to build a healthier, more sustainable game.
Thankfully for Newcastle, their handy transfer business in the last year has been very beneficial to their stance with these rules. Contrary to the football earnings rule, the profit made from selling Anderson does count towards the squad cost rule, adding to the money made from sales involving Minteh, Lloyd Kelly, Sean Longstaff and Miguel Almiron.
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Additionally, Newcastle have made around £80m in profit from selling Alexander Isak to Liverpool, and while amortised fees mean that only a third of the deal counts towards the squad cost calculation, it is very beneficial.
The same Athletic report has projected Newcastle to avoid another penalty from the squad cost rules, but they must tread carefully.
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