Trouble brewing at Leicester as Foxes confirm staggering financial losses with threat of possible points deduction looming

The Foxes were charged by the Premier League last month over breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), with the figures of those alleged breaches released by the Championship club on Tuesday. Leicester's £89.7m ($112.7m) losses account for the 2022-23 season and take their losses over the last three seasons, all of which were in the English top flight, to £215m ($270.2m). The Premier League permits £105m ($132m) in losses over a three-year period.

Leicester's figures come despite almost £110m ($138.3m) raised in player sales in 2022-23, from the £70m ($88m) transfer of Wesley Fofana to Chelsea and James Maddison's £40m ($50.3m) move to Tottenham. However, it is thought that these sales were offset by the sacking of Brendan Rodgers and his coaching staff in April 2023. Furthermore, the club references a "disappointing and unanticipated decline" from the top flight as an explanation for their financial struggles. Leicester recorded league finishes of fifth, fifth and eighth before being relegated to the Championship last term.

In a club statement, chief executive Susan Whelan said: "After a sustained period of growth and success for the club during the last decade, the 2022-23 season was a significant setback, the consequences of which will be felt for some time. We must now focus on rebuilding and seeking to return to and re-establishing ourselves in the Premier League. Having achieved finishing positions in the Premier League of fifth, fifth and eighth in the three preceding seasons, our targets and associated budgets for 2022-23 were entirely reasonable.

"However, for a club such as ours, whose sustained sporting achievements have justified the levels of investment required to compete with the most established clubs and pursue our ambition, a season of such significant under-performance on the pitch presents financial challenges, particularly from the perspective of the game's current Profitability and Sustainability rules."

A points deduction from the Premier League looms. Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted six (from ten on appeal) and four, respectively, for their breaches of PSR. Any sanction from the Premier League would come into play from next season, after the process - including any necessary appeals from the Foxes - has run its course.