Crystal Palace Finances 2022/23

U Got The Look

Crystal Palace enjoyed a great finish to the season, winning six and drawing one of their last seven games, which helped the Eagles to tenth place in the Premier League, their best finish since 2014/15.

Palace’s good results were built on dynamic, exciting football with the likes of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Adam Wharton to the fore. There has been a marked switch in tactics since the arrival of Austrian coach, Oliver Glasner, who replaced the veteran Roy Hodgson in February.

Their improvement was recognised by Gareth Southgate naming no fewer than four Palace players in the provisional England squad for the European Championship this summer, the same as Manchester City and Liverpool.

Little wonder that chairman Steve Parish said, “It’s been a great few weeks for the club, culminating in the call-ups.”

Of course, when players shine for a club outside the traditional elite, it can be something of a double-edged sword, as the big boys then start sniffing around.

Clearly, Palace fans would not want to see their talent leaving Selhurst Park, but sometimes this is a financial necessity, so let’s take a look at the club’s finances to see whether they can afford to hold on to them.

Football clubs do not normally publish their accounts until none months after the season has concluded, so we will focus on the most recent figures from the 2022/23 season, which started under the leadership of Patrick Vieira, before Hodgson’s return.

Profit/(Loss) 2022/23

Palace’s pre-tax loss slightly widened from £24m to £28m, despite revenue rising £20m (13%) from £160m to a new high of £180m, though this was wiped out by operating expenses also increasing £20m (11%) from £180m to £200m, while net interest payable nearly doubled from £4.4m to £8.0m.

Profit from player sales was around the same as the previous season at just £331k.

The main reason for the revenue increase was broadcasting, which rose £15m (12%) from £126m to £141m, though there was also decent growth in commercial, which was up £5m (21%) from £22m to £27m. Match day also increased by £0.9m (8%) to £12.3m.

As a result, all three revenue streams set new club records.

Investment in the squad led to increases in the wage bill, up £7m (5%) from £124m to £131m, and player amortisation, up £6m (19%) from £34m to £40m. In addition, other expenses shot up by more than a third, rising £7m from £19m to £26m.

Although Palace’s £28m loss is obviously not great news, this is actually not too bad for the Premier League, as some clubs reported much higher losses last season, led by Aston Villa £120m, Tottenham £95m, Chelsea £90m, Leicester City £90m and Everton £89m.