If you read and attempted to digest and absorb the number atop this article, then your head will be spinning just like this writer's! To set the Leicester City scene, finance expert Kieran Maguire has been speaking about the Foxes on The Price of Football podcast.
Maguire offered a particularly sobering and shocking assessment that confirms what the Blue Army already suspected: the club is, or at least was last season, an absolute mess! From somebody who covers the East Midlands outfit on a daily basis (yours truly) - that is putting it mildly.
"The average wage bill in the third tier sits at £9million, while Kieran explained that last season’s figure at the King Power Stadium stood at a comparatively staggering £153million."Football Lowdown
The current true state of LCFC is an objective abomination. If it were not for the former owner of Sheffield Wednesday showing them up, culminating in the Owls unreal 2025/26 campaign, the Foxes would have received even harsher criticism. Though Leicester's broader fall from grace remains profoundly embarrassing.
On the pitch, performances were dreadful; the situation within the LE2 boardroom appears comparatively criminal. Maguire asserts that their projected EFL wage bill would sit a staggering £144 million above the average if transferred directly into the reality of League One.
Offloading Leicester City deadwood that's more expensive than Agarwood
Thankfully for concerned City supporters, the departure of four senior players accounted for £12m of that excess, according to apparent salary records. Jamaal Lascelles, Jordan Ayew, Patson Daka and Ricardo Pereira comprised that overpaid quartet whose exits have provided some necessary, if insufficient, monetary relief.
If Leicester successfully orchestrate the sale of Harry Winks, which remains vital for a multitude of reasons, that figure rises to approximately £17 million in total savings. In addition, the Leicestershire outfit are forecasted to decrease their bulging books by another £4 million should they relinquish Abdul Fatawu, Jannik Vestergaard and Jeremy Monga.
Furthermore, the departure of various loan additions has reportedly saved the club an additional £4m in expenditure. Yet a massive disparity still reigns: even after cutting roughly £25m, the club faces a wage bill still hovering at £119m relative to the third tier.
"Caleb Okoli: £ 1,300,000Capology
Victor Kristiansen: £ 1,300,000
Wout Faes: £ 1,300,000"
It is worth noting that major outlets have reported the activation of relegation contract clauses specifically designed to lower player pay. That particular streak of prudence displayed by the hierarchy on Filbert Way has proven to be absolutely immeasurable in the club's desperate attempt to achieve long-term sustainability.
As a matter of fact, the amount wages will fall is literally intangible because no reporting has outlined the figures. This is rather a large mercy; as is losing Wout Faes, Victor Kristiansen and Caleb Okoli's unjustifiable £1.3m respective annual pay packets!
Add us as a preferred source on Google