Turkish football clubs healing financially


The financial losses of Turkey's four biggest clubs, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor, dropped to TL 368 million ($124.6 million) in a 27 percent decline, while their revenue exceeded TL 1.5 billion, causing the debt growth rate to decline to 20 percent in 2015 from 35 percent in 2014.

After UEFA began closely monitoring football clubs to ensure that they comply with the rules of financial fair play and that they cut down on transfer expenses, football clubs began tightening their belts last year. The measures taken for the reduction of losses, which is one of the most important financial criteria, has begun yielding results, with three big football clubs reducing their losses despite the rise in exchange rates. The stock exchange securities of four big clubs plummeted to TL 368.3 million in 2015 from TL 505.6 million in 2014 with a 27 percent fall.

Although the total debt of the four football clubs reached TL 3.2 billion with a 20.7 percent upsurge, their debt growth rate declined. Meanwhile, their total revenues rose to TL 1.561 billion in a 47 percent boom. Beşiktaş's losses dropped to TL 58.6 million in a 55.5 percent fall, while the club's debts reached TL 841.9 million in a 26 percent upsurge and revenues hit a record high at TL 407.5 percent in an 83 percent boom. Despite carrying out 90 million euros worth of transfers last year, Fenerbahçe took the lead in revenues by getting ahead of Galatasaray. Fenerbahçe's total revenues increased to TL 548.2 million, 72.6 percent. Galatasaray's losses dropped to TL 79 million in a nearly 10 percent fall, the club's revenues rose 22.8 percent to TL 508 million. Its debts exceeded TL 1 billion in a 9.7 percent increase. Trabzonspor's losses soared to TL 113 million in a 9 percent rise.