Arsenal‘s summer transfer budget has been the subject of rumour for the past few weeks. Fans were dismayed to read in tabloids that the club would only have around £40 million to spend in the coming window. However, is that figure fact or fiction?
Examining Arsenal’s Summer Transfer Budget
New Commerical Deals Taking Effect
Arsenal have two sponsorship deals expiring in the summer and they just happen to be the club’s largest.
Puma are currently the Gunners’ kit manufacturer and net the Londoners £30 million per season. While this is a very healthy number, Arsenal have opted to switch companies and allow Adidas to manufacture their kits from this summer.
Goal reports that this new deal will net the club £300 million over a five year period, or £60 million annually.
Speaking of kits, the deal with Emirates to retain their spot as main shirt sponsor will kick in this July. The airline has agreed to increase the value of the deal from £30 million to £40 million per season.
Combine the two and we find that Arsenal will net an additional £40 million annually due to these sponsorship deals. However, this is far from the final figure.
Expiring Contracts
Arsenal have six player contracts set to expire at the club in the summer. A few are guaranteed to leave; Aaron Ramsey recently announced his pre-contract agreement with Juventus and Petr Cech has announced his decision to retire.
Others may stick around; both Nacho Monreal and Stephan Lichtsteiner have club options for another season written into their contracts.
However, if all six players do leave, the club would free between £425,000 and £480,000 per week. Over the course of a season, that is between £22.1 and £24.96 million.
There are still questions over exactly who will leave, but we can already see that the club should have over £60 million in spending power come July that they do not have now.
Prize Money & European Competition
Arsenal’s financial clout has been greatly affected by a drop out of the top four for two seasons now. While the difference in prize money isn’t huge, it is worth mentioning.
Last season, fifth-place Chelsea earned almost £2 million more in prize money than the Gunners, with fourth-place Liverpool netting another £1 million. Again, this is not a huge total, but every little bit helps.
More concerning is the drop from the Champions League, which has had a much greater impact on the club’s finances. A good illustration is to point out that every club that qualifies for the Champions League group stage is due at least €15.25 million this season.
Meanwhile, every club in the Europa League group stage is only guaranteed €2.92 million. That is barely more than the €2.7 million bonus a team gets for a Champions League group stage win.
It is difficult to estimate exactly how much the club is losing in Europe’s secondary competition. However, Business Insider estimated in 2017 the figure was at least £20 million per season.
A return to the Champions League would make a massive difference in Arsenal’s summer transfer budget.
Last Word
We can see that while the Gunners are in a tight spot this season, things should improve in the summer, at least financially. Arsenal’s summer transfer budget will get a boost from new commercial deals and players leaving.
The Londoners could also see huge increases in their budget with a return to the Champions League, a better league finish and/or selling players.
While there are many variables which could change the figure, Arsenal’s summer transfer budget should be over £60 million. According to the BBC’s David Ornstein, the figure could potentially rise all the way to £100 million.
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