Real Madrid have announced that their debt has risen to £296million (€327million) following a summer of extravagant spending.
The Spanish outfit embarked on a massive spending spree during the transfer window which saw the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzemaand Xabi Alonso move to the Bernabeu.
The summer spending totalled £226million (€250million) but it has resulted in the club accumulating a massive debt.
However, despite the loss, the club’s annual assembly approved a new record budget of £381million (€422million euros) for the current season.
“We’re going through a delicate moment with the world financial crisis but we had to make a big effort for the new arrivals of players, which explains the debt,” explained club president Florentino Perez.
Perez told the assembly that projected revenues, increased on previous years, should see the club cut their debt to around £180million (€210million euros) by the end of the season.
The figures are likely to be cited by Uefa, who intend to introduce strict rules on the amount of money a club can spend if they wish to participate in European competitions.
Uefa president Michel Platini has threatened any club that does not break even in the next three years will be kicked out of the European competitions. The proposals, which are still to be finalised, are to be introduced across European competition in the 2012-13 season.
The assembly also heard plans to remodel the Bernebeu and build a Real Madrid theme park at the club’s training ground as a means to increase future revenue streams.
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