By Chris Wright
Portsmouth‘s administrators have revealed that the soon-to-be Championship side’s debts are somewhere in the region of £120 million.
Pompey became the first top-flight team ever to enter administration earlier this year with debts reported to be around the £60 million mark, but the figures that have been published today by Andrew Andronikou – Portsmouth’s chief administrator – reveal the figure to be nearly double that amount.
A quick breakdown of the figures shows that the south-coast club owe almost £38 million to previous owners (including £14 million owed to Balram Chainrai) and £9 million owed to player’s agents and scouts.
The biggest indication of the dire state Pompey’s books are in is that fact that they somehow owe Tottenham Hotspur £1 million as a result of selling Asmir Begovic to Stoke in January. Incredible!
Andronikou also admitted that the club is no nearer finding a new buyer;
“We are no nearer to a buyer than we have been for the past two months. Will one be in place for the [FA] Cup final? Who knows?”
So, one football team for sale – recently relegated from the Premier League, deeply rooted in administration and with debts of £120 million – any takers?