International study indicates that Brighton and Hove Albion is one of the largest moneymakers in sport when it comes to transfer deals.
Their recent triumphs include the sales of players like Moises Caicedo, Yves Bissouma, Alexis Mac Allister, and Ben White, and supporters are excited to see how new recruit Valentin Barco turns out.
Some claim that the Seagulls have traded their way up thanks to the efforts of poker-playing Albion chairman Tony Bloom, his data crunchers, talent-scouting setup, and technical team. A recent set of numbers seems to support that claim.
The International Centre for Sports Studies states that for non-academy players sold between 2014 and 2023, the club got €405 million, or roughly £346 million.
The Centre International d’Etude du Sport (CIES), a Swiss organization, reported that Albion expended €314 million (about £269 million) during that same time frame.
The outcome was a profit for the Seagulls of €91 million, or roughly £78 million, which is the second-highest of all the clubs in the Premier League at the moment. Only Brentford made more money, with a profit of €99 million, or roughly £85 million.
Only two Premier League teams, Brighton and Brentford, made the global top 50; the Bees came in at number 26 and Albion at number 29.
Losses were more frequent, with six English clubs ranking in the top 10 for transfer deals that resulted in losses, per the data released yesterday (Wednesday, January 24).
With a deficit of €631 million, Barcelona, a Spanish team, topped the standings. Chelsea and Arsenal came in second and third, respectively, with €483 and €436 million.
Manchester United came in fifth place with a €328 million loss, and Paris St-Germain came in fourth with a €410 million loss.
Aston Villa (€256 million), Everton (€251 million), and Liverpool (€249 million), which came in seventh, eighth, and ninth position, respectively, were the other three English clubs in the top ten that were losing money.
The CIES reported two weeks ago that Brighton had strong academy receipts, placing it in 62nd place globally in the worldwide top 100.
During the course of the ten years, Albion signed eight players for a total of €91 million (about £78 million); all of those deals occurred in the previous five years.
Players who attended the academy for at least three seasons between the ages of 15 and 21 were the only ones included in the CIES study.
Robert Sanchez, who signed for Chelsea for a fee of £25 million including “add-ons,” was one of the eight former youth players that Albion traded.
