Burnley FC the seventh-most valuable club in the Premier League

Burnley are the seventh-most valuable club in the Premier League according to a new study into football finances, with the Clarets described as the "most sensibly run club" financially in the division.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche (right) has led Burnley FC for their latest period of growth, which has seen the side ranked as the seventh-most valuable in the division.Burnley manager Sean Dyche (right) has led Burnley FC for their latest period of growth, which has seen the side ranked as the seventh-most valuable in the division.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche (right) has led Burnley FC for their latest period of growth, which has seen the side ranked as the seventh-most valuable in the division.

With Manchester City, valued at £2.364bn (up £385m), having overtaken cross-city rivals Manchester United, valued at £2.087bn (a fall of £376m blamed on "higher wages and lower profit"), as the Premier League's most valuable club, the entire worth of all 20 clubs stands at a staggering £14.7bn according to a study by the University of Liverpool's Centre for Sports Business Group.

The Clarets, valued at around £370m, are ranked as the league's seventh-most valuable club for the 2017/18 season behind the two Manchester clubs, Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal, with the top six accounting for a shade under 75% of the total combined league's value. Despite being just one place behind Arsenal in sixth, Burnley are worth around £1bn less than their North London compatriots.

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Analysing a range of factors including account revenue, profits, non-recurring costs, average profits on player sales over a three-year period, net assets, wage control, and proportion of seats sold for matches, the report aims to provide as in-depth a snapshot of Premier League clubs' values as possible without focusing solely on turnover as other reports do.

For example, despite Manchester United boasting a higher revenue (£590m) than Manchester City (£500m), City's lower wages, the fact that they made £39m in profit from player sales, and their ownership model - there are no loan interest costs and no dividends paid to shareholders - mean they come out as the most valuable club.

Other key points from the report include the fact that Spurs have the lowest wage/revenue percentage in the division at 39% and Palace's is the highest at 78%, Huddersfield have the lowest wage bill at £63m and United have the highest at £296m, and that Chelsea have the highest annual matchday income per fan at £1,791 while Huddersfield make just £201.