Debt of the 20 biggest football clubs in the country exceeds R$10 billion

The debt of the 20 biggest Brazilian football clubs totaled a deficit of R$10,6 billion by the end of 2022. Of these, 19 currently play in the football elite, while only one plays in the second division — Ceará. The only Serie A team that is not in the top-20 in debt is Cuiabá. The numbers were published by Sports Value.

The 'cheese bread' duo is at the top of the ranking: Atlético/MG and Cruzeiro are the clubs with the most debt in the country.

O Atlético/MG leads the list, with a total deficit of R$1,6 billion, a value that has more than doubled since 2019, when the registered debt was R$747 million.

The Minas Gerais team's future stadium, which should be opened from July to August, is excluded from this account. The MRV Arena is expected to cost R$440 million to the rooster's coffers. When the club includes expenses on its balance sheet, it can achieve R$2 billion in debt.

then comes the Cruzeiro, with the second largest debt of football clubs: R$1,05 billion. For the other team from Minas Gerais, the biggest loss was the three seasons in Series B, which significantly reduced revenue. It is worth noting that, since December 2021, Cruzeiro has been a SAF (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol) — known as a club-company.

Despite the high and worrying numbers, the clubs' debt is below pre-pandemic levels, having fallen 3% compared to 2021 and 12% compared to 2020. See the complete ranking:

Revenue X debt of football clubs

Overall, the revenue of the 20 biggest teams grew 9% in 2022, reaching R$7,5 billion. The biggest sources are rights of television broadcast (R$ 3 billion) and transfer of athletes (R$ 1,4 billion).

The club with the highest revenue is Flamengo, with almost R$1,2 billion. Then comes Palmeiras (R$ 856 million) and Corinthians (BRL 779 million).

Atlético/MG is the team with the biggest debt/income ratio. In other words, it is the team that needs more revenue time to pay its debt. At the other end is the Cuiabá.

In reality, the Botafogo is the leader in terms of debts x revenue, owing 32x more than its revenue. However, the club was not included in the highest revenue category of the study, for the first time in years — just like Vasco.

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CNN Esportes/Itatiaia/Quaest Research released the results of a survey on the biggest football fans in Brazil. The study, entitled “The Biggest Fan X-Ray”, interviewed 6.507 people aged 16 or over in 325 cities across the country between March 29 and April 2, 2023. The result generated discussions on social media. There are fans talking about a biased result due to the involvement of the owner of the vehicle contracting the research in a team from Minas Gerais.

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