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Leicester City have reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since their last victory in the competition three years ago. In a match attended by the largest crowd since the start of the pandemic, they defeated Chelsea at Wembley. For Leicester, the day was filled with memorable moments, such as Youri Tielemans scoring a stunning goal from 25 yards, Brendan Rodgers celebrating by sprinting down the touchline, and Prince William presenting Kasper Schmeichel with the trophy. As confetti fell from the sky, Schmeichel and Wes Morgan lifted the silverware with joyous expressions on their faces.
Reworded: Despite being three points ahead in the Championship rankings, Leicester may obtain another trophy this year. However, they face a challenging match against Chelsea in the Cup on Sunday, which serves as a reminder of how their season was shaped by the events that followed their memorable victory at Wembley. Just three days after their triumph, Leicester suffered a defeat at Stamford Bridge, putting them in a position of needing assistance to qualify for the Champions League. Then, on the final day, they were defeated by Tottenham at home, causing them to narrowly miss out on a top-four spot for the second consecutive year. Despite coming close to returning to Europe’s top competition and securing their first prestigious domestic cup, Leicester aimed to progress further.
The club’s statement accompanying their financial report for the 2021-22 season revealed a record loss of £92.5m. The club’s goal was to build on their previous successes. They were the driving force behind what could be considered the greatest footballing miracle, winning the Premier League against all odds in 2016, just two years after being promoted from the Championship. Their chief executive, Susan Whelan, emphasized the importance of remaining compliant with regulations in both domestic and European competitions, in order to compete regularly. She also mentioned the significance of player trading, buying low and selling high, and making wise recruitment decisions in order to align with their revenue growth goals.
Recently, it has been revealed that Leicester is facing a serious risk of violating certain regulations. This includes potentially being deducted points by the Premier League for allegedly breaking profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) within the three-year cycle ending in 2022-23, as well as facing consequences from the English Football League if they are found to have violated similar regulations within the three-year cycle ending this summer. If Leicester does not generate more funds through sales before June 30th, the club financial reporting unit of the EFL, which was established two years ago to monitor compliance with these regulations, believes they will exceed the allowed £83m in losses over the designated period. Leicester has acknowledged that they are currently in discussions with football authorities regarding their profitability and sustainability calculations.
Unable to secure a spot in the Champions League in both 2020 and 2021, the team was determined to make progress. They invested approximately £50m on new players, such as Patson Daka, Boubakary Soumaré, Ryan Bertrand, and Jannik Vestergaard. Unfortunately, these additions did not have a lasting impact in the premier league before the team’s unfortunate relegation last season.
In the 2021-22 season, Leicester had a wage bill of £182m, making it the seventh-largest in the Premier League. Unlike in previous years, when they sold top players such as N’Golo Kanté, Danny Drinkwater, Riyad Mahrez, Harry Maguire, and Ben Chilwell for a combined total of over £250m, they did not sell any major assets. However, it was believed that Tielemans, who joined Aston Villa on a free transfer, would be the next to leave. Due to the impact of Covid on the market, clubs had difficulty selling players, causing a downturn in prices. Regardless, Leicester remained optimistic and pushed on, but ultimately finished in eighth place, followed by a disappointing 18th place finish.
There have been ongoing concerns regarding Leicester’s struggle to meet the Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR), but this is not a new issue. Back in the summer before their relegation, manager Brendan Rodgers acknowledged that the club’s finances were not ideal and revealed that they had missed out on potential transfers due to financial restraints, despite the significant sale of player Wesley Fofana for £75m to Chelsea. In recent comments, Enzo Maresca, who took over as manager last summer, expressed his disappointment at not being able to make additions to his team during the January transfer window. One of his main targets, Stefano Sensi from Internazionale, could not be pursued as the club needed to offload players before investing in new ones.
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All clubs are mindful sales of homegrown players generate pure profit – it is seen as a golden method to offset spending – though Leicester rejected a £20m bid from Brighton for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in January. The off-pitch revenue streams that can make the world of difference on the balance sheets, such as lucrative commercial deals or increased ticket sales via stadium expansion, are slow-burners. It is also important to note that PSR rules include provisions for allowable expenditure, such as money invested in stadium and training-ground improvements, women’s football and the community.
As Leicester prepare to release their latest set of accounts, pertaining to 2022-23, at the end of this month, they are in a peculiar position. Their owner, King Power International, has deep pockets but Leicester, like all clubs intent on destabilising order in the top flight, have to play by the rules. The summer after one of their greatest days has proved a noose around their necks. Not so long ago Leicester were rightly championed as the model club but one fatal misstep, if they did not know it already, can prove extremely costly.
Source: theguardian.com
