Gary Neville says relegation could cost Leeds United £120m
Gary Neville claims that relegation could cost Leeds United £120m before selling any players and says there would be ‘a lot of losses’ at the club if it happened.
The Whites fell into the relegation zone after defeat to Arsenal, as Everton claimed a big win over Leicester to move one point above them and Burnley with a game in hand.
Now speaking on his podcast, Neville shared that he has been told how much it would cost teams that dropped into the Championship and says teams will be desperate to stay up because of it.
“We’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks but we’ve got a good top four race, a brilliant title race and a compelling, awful.. I always think they’re awful, relegation battles,” he said.
“I think that the desperation of going down, the financial loss is too great. That drop is enormous and it causes real problems. But one of them is going to suffer it.
“I can only imagine the losses that Everton are going to have to suffer if they go down. And Leeds will not be far, well they will be far but there will be a lot of losses at Leeds as well. It’s going to be awful.
“I heard a couple of weeks ago that the difference between going down and staying up was £120m. Of cash that they would have to put in, if they didn’t sell any players.
“You think to yourself, wow, it’s not pocket change that. That can’t be right. That sort of cliff edge is so deep.”
Shocking
The amount of money in the Premier League is there for all to see, but many fans don’t realise the huge discrepancy dropping down just one division can have.
For Leeds to have a £120m swing in their finances would be catastrophic after investing so heavily since coming back to the Premier League two summers ago.
They would likely be forced to sell several key players, while the owner would need to inject some funds back into the club to help keep them steady, especially if they don’t get promotion at the first attempt and the parachute payments disappear.
The best way for the club to avoid this mess is to get results in their final three games of the season, which of course is easier said than done. All three games will be seen as must win fixtures now, adding even more pressure on.
Fans can do their part in the stadium where possible, but it’s now on the players and the manager to give absolutely everything and more to keep this club in the top flight and away from financial torment.
In other Leeds news, Gary Neville admits he fears for Leeds ‘enormously’, and called out one player in particular for what he did v Arsenal.