Gary Neville has claimed that Leeds United have avoided serious financial trouble after confirming their Premier League safety. The Whites secured a third consecutive top-flight campaign with a 2-1 win at Brentford, a result that was massively helped by Newcastle’s win against Burnley.
Along with the sadness that comes with relegation, financial problems often await the clubs who drop into the Championship from the Premier League because of the disparity in TV money between the divisions. That may well have been one of the issues the hierarchy at Elland Road would have been worried about had Leeds joined Norwich and Watford.
After praising Jesse Marsch’s side for their final-day achievement, Neville mentioned the financial impact of dropping out of the top flight. He said on Sky Sports: “I thought Leeds were in massive trouble, I didn’t think they’d go to Brentford and win so well done to Jesse Marsch and his players. An incredible performance today, the real desperation and real pressure was down there at the bottom.
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“Leeds would have been in significant financial trouble if they’d gone down today. What’s going to happen to Burnley now? That leverage buy out, they’ve got to pay that £70m back quickly apparently, I’m really concerned for Burnley.
“Obviously we’ve got a great atmosphere here with Manchester City winning the title, you’ve got Liverpool who were very unlucky, a brilliant top four race but there’s real pressure down there. For Leeds, well done to them, they’ve stayed in for another year but, for Burnley, a real struggle.”
With the scare of a potential return to the Championship staring the Leeds hierarchy in the face for the last couple of the months, they will be keen to avoid a similar finish this time next year. The lack of squad depth was laid bare throughout the season with all the injuries to key players and that must be addressed in the summer.
It is certainly a nice problem to have now though after many Leeds fans had started to come to terms with a return to the Championship. Avoiding a repeat of that threat will now be right at the top of the agenda at Elland Road.
