Everton record big losses for third successive year

Everton have posted a loss of over £100million for the third successive year but will not be held in breach of Premier League profit and sustainability rules.

Figures released show a £120.9m deficit for the year ending June 2021 after another season hugely affected by Covid.

Independent calculations suggest the global pandemic impacted Everton to the tune of £103m in the 12-month trading period, with the full effect on the club since the start of the outbreak estimated at £170m.

Everton's losses over the last three years amount to £371.8m, with Premier League rules stating a club is in breach of financial regulations if they make an adjusted loss of more than £105m over a three-year period.

In the last seven years the club have made a profit just once, in 2016-17.

Budget and transfer restrictions are the first sanctions which can be applied but the PA news agency understands there will be no penalties forthcoming due to the extenuating circumstances associated with Covid.

The Premier League has had access to Everton's latest accounts since November and with the Goodison Park outfit continuing to be fully transparent and co-operative, club officials remain confident the Toffees are in a good place.

That is based on record turnover of £193m and the continued support from billionaire Farhad Moshiri, who committed £100m through a new share issue during 2020-21 and provided a further injection of £97m after the end of the financial year.

But otherwise the figures make for gloomy reading, coming on the back of losses of £111m in 2018-19 and £139.9m in 2019-20.

Gate receipts were just £200,000 - with only three league matches and one Carabao Cup quarter-final tie in front of a small number of fans inside at the ground which otherwise remained empty - while the annual wage bill rose by £16m.

Additional costs associated with strict Covid playing protocols and significant contraction in the transfer market all contributed to the loss.

The club have also committed significant funds to getting their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock from planning stage to construction phase in 2021, the progress of which will not be affected by the latest losses.

Manager Frank Lampard will also still have money to spend in the summer transfer window after cost-cutting restricted predecessor Rafael Benitez.

Having spent £67m on the transfers of Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ben Godfrey - plus the signing of James Rodriguez on reported wages of £200,000-a-week - in 2020-21 while bringing in virtually nothing, Benitez's transfer spend at the start of this season was a paltry £1.7m on five players, four of whom were free transfers.

Those financial pressures were a consideration in Benitez selling Rodriguez to Qatari club Al Rayyan in September to get the Colombia forward's salary off the wage bill.

In January, Everton offset the purchases of defenders Vitalii Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson for a combined £30m with the sale of left-back Lucas Digne to Aston Villa for £25m, with Dele Alli arriving on a free transfer and Donny Van De Beek and Anwar El Ghazi signed on loan.