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Parachute cash made West Brom the top earners

Albion were the Championship’s biggest earners during the 2018/19 campaign, new figures published by Deloitte have revealed.

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West Brom celebrate (AMA)

The global accountancy firm published its Annual Review of Football Finance yesterday.

And it revealed the Baggies – as well as title rivals Leeds – are leading the when it comes to revenue generated.

Overall, though, the report paints a bleak picture for the finances of Championship clubs – and strongly suggests they agree to work to a salary cap in the future.

Albion are widely viewed as one of the best run clubs in the top two tiers of English football.

The 2018/19 season saw the club bring in £71 million. That revenue was heavily boosted by parachute payments, which accounted for 62 per cent of the total.

The Baggies and Leeds are favourites to win promotion to the Premier League when football resumes following the coronavirus pandemic.

And the Yorkshire side also posted impressive stats in the Deloitte table with the highest commercial revenue (£21 million) and largest match day income (£18 million) in the division.

Albion will remain in a strong financial position while they are receiving parachute payments or if they return to the Premier League.

But the Deloitte report reveals the startling unsustainability of the current Championship business model.

Combined losses across the division totalled £300million, with a ratio of players’ wages to turnover of 107 per cent.

And the latest figures do not account for losses acquired due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Deloitte believes teams in the division should work to a salary cap of 70 per cent of revenue to ensure their survival. Tim Bridge, from Deloitte, said: “Even before the financial impact caused by the pandemic, EFL clubs were typically sustained by owner largesse and/or the pursuit of uncertain and uncontrollable promotion or player transfer windfalls.

“Now is the time for serious action to address the issue of financial stability.

“Our analysis shows that even a basic 70 per cent salary cap mechanism across the Championship could have a rapid financial corrective impact, all but eliminating losses in a normal season.”

A statement from the EFL said: “The EFL has been consulting with its member clubs for some time regarding potential changes to financial and sustainability regulations with the aim of improving the current position in all three divisions.

“These discussions, which commenced prior to the Covid-19 outbreak and have continued throughout, have included the potential introduction of measures such as salary caps and squad size limits.

“Discussions with clubs remain ongoing.”