Leading football finance expert Kieran Maguire has made an astonishing new claim that West Ham’s losses are the worst the Premier League has seen – but Chelsea’s owners may yet have a say.
West Ham announced club record £104m losses when they finally posted their annual accounts on Friday.
But fans have been wondering how they compare with other clubs throughout the history of the Premier League and now that question has been answered.
Hammers News exclusively revealed all the way back in June last year that West Ham would announce record losses exceeding £100m in their 2024/25 accounts.
West Ham losses confirmed as Premier League’s worst yet
That was confirmed when the delayed accounts were filed with Companies House and published on West Ham’s website a day before the deadline.
There is no love lost between West Ham and Chelsea fans, but they share something in common right now in the fact they are both protesting for their owners to leave.
This is shocking! 😰 Relegation is going to be dire for West Ham…
What would YOU do to avoid this mess?
West Ham owner David Sullivan
Ironically Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly was linked with a takeover of West Ham before buying into the Blues.
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Now Todd Boehly and Chelsea’s owners may save David Sullivan and co some face when it comes to finances.
David Sullivan during a West Ham game.
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
That’s according to leading football finance expert Kieran Maguire, who says West Ham’s losses are the Premier League’s worst yet but that Chelsea could go on to surpass them.
When Sullivan and David Gold took over the Hammers in 2010, the club was reportedly on the brink of administration with £100m of debt.
Fast forward 16 years and West Ham have announced huge £104m losses despite a successful five-year period on and off the pitch under David Moyes.
During that time, West Ham joined Chelsea in the top 16 most lucrative clubs in world football.
Chelsea finances could surpass West Ham as Premier League’s worst ever
Hammers fans are outraged by just how desperate the club’s finances have become.
That has had many pondering whether the Premier League has ever seen worse.
Would you take relegation if it meant that David Sullivan would leave?! 🤔
Not a nice position to be in – but what would YOU choose if you had to?
David Sullivan takes in a West Ham match from the directors' box
Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images
And the answer, shockingly, is no.
Maguire says West Ham’s huge losses are the worst the top flight has seen since the advent of the Premier League in 1992 – but he claims a hint from UEFA suggests it may be small fry compared to Chelsea’s.
Maguire, author of the Price of Football and co-host of the podcast of the same name, was asked how West Ham’s £104m loss compares to other top flight sides historically.
Chelsea Co Owners Behdad Eghbali (right) and Todd Boehly during a Premier League match against West Ham
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
“Biggest seen so far,” Maguire responded on X.
“But according to (a) UEFA report could (it could) be a (case of) ‘Hold my Beer’ when Chelsea publish theirs.”
Maguire has broken down some of the key elements of West Ham’s dismal 2024/25 accounts.
He highlights that West Ham lost £104m pre tax in 2024/25.
The Hammers’ Revenue was down 16 per cent while wages were up nine per cent.
The average weekly wage stands at a whopping £81,000 for a side that has been stuck in the relegation zone for most of the season.
Amortisation is up 19 per cent while player purchases amounted to £133m and sales just £44m.
The total cost of squad is nearly half a billion pounds at £481m.
Transfer fee instalments owed to other clubs total a whopping £196m while total losses over the years total £312m.
Since the year end, West Ham have a £124m loan facility from Rights and Media Funding and used a payday loan to cash in £12m of transfer fee instalments due on player sales, as well as a £40m Barclays overdraft.
So Chelsea’s predicted finances must be in pretty awful shape if they are threatening to beat that.
In the wake of the losses, West Ham have made their stance clear on a fire sale of players to fill the financial black hole.
Meanwhile fans feel vice-chair Karren Brady must resign after breaking a major promise she made in 2010.
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