One of the leading brains of football finance has responded to fresh claims West Ham have no money for signings due to PSR.
West Ham fans are up in arms this week after the club doubled down on its bleak financial situation.
Especially less than two years after selling Academy product Declan Rice for a pure profit of over £100m and winning a first major trophy for over four decades.
It is widely accepted Graham Potter needs to carry out a major overhaul of West Ham’s squad this summer.
The fact the Hammers are sat 17th in the Premier League table with four games to play is all the evidence needed on that front.
Potter promised West Ham were in for an ‘exciting summer window’ after a dismal defeat at Wolves on April 1st.
West Ham fan fury over club’s finances
While the Hammers boss has admitted he faces some big decisions over the side, Potter has since backtracked somewhat on his transfer pledge, saying he doesn’t believe a ‘major rebuild’ is needed.
Many supporters would disagree after another late collapse in the 3-2 defeat to Brighton last time out which piled pressure on him and the club’s owners.
Fans who regularly follow Hammers News will know that West Ham have been preparing supporters – and the manager – for a difficult summer window for some time now.
It has been consistently stated by West Ham that they must sell before they can buy this summer – even as far back as the January window.
The water was muddied by the fact the Hammers made a £57m bid for Jhon Duran in the winter window.
West Ham have since clarified the Duran bid and spending plans, admitting they would have had to sell having not fully appreciated how bad finances were going to be.
Those inside the club have been trying to manage expectations of fans after being among the top six spenders in the Premier League since Daniel Kretinsky’s arrival in November 2021.
A top board source – believed to be majority owner David Sullivan – told supporters earlier this month: ‘our finances are a mess’.
Claim and counter claim confusion over Hammers’ PSR position
Athletic journalist David Ornstein called Sullivan’s bluff about West Ham’s spending power, suggesting the club are feeding fans something of a red herring over finances.
Ornstein stated he’s not aware of any reason PSR would be an issue for West Ham and that he expected the club to be busy backing Potter in the window.
But the club has continued to insists the financial situation means West Ham cannot spend without sales.
“Under Financial Fair Play rules (PSR) we are completely spent out,” the top spokesman for West Ham’s board told Hammers News earlier this month.
“We have to move players out to raise money before we buy.”
To fund last summer’s £155m spend, West Ham did a £69m deal with Barclays to get access to transfer cash owed to them early.
West Ham actually forfeited £4m of that £69m by way of payment to the bank in order to have £65m to spend in the failed rebuild.
West Ham chief Sullivan has previously warned £80m losses are on the horizon for the Hammers in the next accounts.
Maguire responds to fresh claims West Ham have no money
Now Kieran Maguire has responded to fresh claims West Ham have no money for signings due to PSR.
Hammers supporters went into meltdown after board confidant Sean Whetstone reported on Claret and Hugh that West Ham will be in breach of Premier League financial fair play rules unless they sell this summer.
Whetstone, who counts Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady among his contacts, says that means Potter will indeed start the summer window with no transfer budget.
Hammers News has spoken to Maguire – the author of the Price of Football books and co-host of the podcast of the same name – about the club’s financial position.
PSR states clubs cannot post losses exceeding £105m over a three-year accounting period. Wages to turnover ratios are also considered within the evaluation.
Any club spending – including hiring and firing managers and staff – are also included in the calculations.
Several supporters tagged Maguire in on the post from Whetstone about the financial situation.
Maguire: West Ham PSR claims seem odd to me
Maguire responded with a graph which shows West Ham have made a combined £51m profit before tax in the last three years.
It shows the Hammers posted a profit of £12m in 2022, a loss of £18m in 2023 and a profit of £57m in 2024.
Maguire said the claims about West Ham being at their PSR limit ‘seem odd’.
“Seems odd to me,” he stated.
“Still have a Declan Rice sized profit to include in both 24/25 and 25/26… and these figures are before add backs for academy etc.”
Hammers News spoke to Maguire separately, pointing out the £69m Barclays deal and claims £80m losses could be on the horizon in the next accounts.
Even then, Maguire told Hammers News he feels something isn’t adding up.
And he can only hazard a guess as to what the reason might be.
“It doesn’t make sense to me that the PSR limit has been reached,” Maguire told Hammers News.
“The Rice sale is included in the figures for three years.
“I’m not sure where the £80m losses being on the horizon is coming from.
“The wage bill must have increased a lot!”
Hammers insider Whetstone responded to Maguire questioning the club’s position, saying: “The Declan Rice profit was booked last season in the accounts, we are down at least £30m in merit and facility payments this season from what we budgeted and expected to make a £80m loss with another £80m loss next season unless the books are balanced.
“We sold all monies owed to us by other clubs last season as years of wasted transfer spending catches up with us!”
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