Stefan Borson: Arsenal ‘close’ to breaching UEFA rules as costs now ‘through the roof’
Arsenal’s wage bill has shot up following their latest set of summer signings.
Arsenal posted a club-record revenue in 2023-24 after their turnover improved from £466.7m to £616.6m.
However, operation costs are certain to be higher than ever.
Arsenal’s wage bill is the fourth-highest in the Premier League, with their latest published accounts for 2023-24 revealing their wage bill surged from £234.8m in 2022-23 to £327.8m, and that would’ve risen following their spending this year.
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Mikel Arteta’s side’s wages have now “gone through the roof” after making multiple new additions in the summer transfer window.
Arsenal spent around £250m after signing Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Cristhian Mosquera and Noni Madueke on permanent deals, with Piero Hincapie also joining on loan.
Arsenal ‘close’ to breaching financial rules
Borson previously told Football Insider Arsenal are “close” to breaching Uefa’s financial rules following their heavy spending.
Clubs in European competitions were required to keep spending on player wages and fees to 80 per cent of revenue in 2023-24, while they were permitted to lose up to £77m over a three-year period.
However, the squad cost control ratio dropped to 70 per cent in 2024-25 and will remain at that level moving forward.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “Squad cost control is a calendar year test, so it takes half of the numbers from the accounting year 2024-25 and the first half of 2025-26.
“We’ll never see them broken out like that, but we can kind of try and guesstimate what that might look like, and they’re going to be close.
“Arsenal are definitely going to be close because the wage bill now has gone through the roof. I mean, the wage bill must be over £350m, maybe £375m. So, they’ve got half a year of a £375m wage bill.”
Arsenal’s accounts are being assessed by Uefa after they qualified for the Champions League again last season.
Arsenal to smash club record after £700m reveal
Arsenal have been making efforts to increase their revenue, but they could still be at risk of breaching Uefa’s financial rules.
Borson said: “The revenue is great, so the revenue is now probably at £700m.
“They’re performing well, but they have very high amortisation as well, and they don’t have huge player-trading profits because they’ve not been very good at it.
“So, when you do the full maths on that squad cost control, they’re going to be pretty close to 70 per cent.”
Arteta’s side beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in their opening game of the Champions League, while they have picked up 10 points from their first five matches of the new Premier League season.
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