Financial struggles are nothing new in football, especially in Spanish football, in recent years, but one of the few clubs who had been relatively safe given their low spending was Athletic Club. The Basque side’s transfer policy and huge support gives the appearance of a club which has its finances in order, but all is not quite as it seems.
"Athletic's situation is bad,” president Jon Uriarte confessed in a video which the club shared. “We are in a negative inertia that we have been carrying for a few years. For example, in the last three seasons without extraordinary income from the sale of players, there has been a reduction in equity and provision of 110 million euros, that means a figure of 37 million per season."
In other words, Athletic are losing 37 million euros per season. That’s some figure for a club which considers itself among Spain’s elite and which seeks to push the top six for European action.
"We have to manage to correct this negative inertia, we have to balance income with expenses and make Athletic sustainable," Uriarte continued. "We want maximum transparency to account for our work and so that between all of us we can transform the club.”
That raises questions not only over Athletic’s financial management and success on the pitch, but also over their unique transfer policy. The club follows a strict policy of only signing players born or brought up in the Basque region of northern Spain stretching into the south of France. It remains one of the only clubs in the world to limit itself in such a way.
As a result, rival clubs and players are able to negotiate deals with a much stronger hand as they know that Athletic have slim pickings available. There’s no better illustration than the centre forward, where winger Iñaki Williams has adapted his game as there are simply no elite level Basque centre forwards available.
That leaves ageing stars on big contracts, relying almost solely on loyalty from older players to reduce their contracts and counting upon the arrival of youth prospects who can compete and play at the top level.
The sustainability of that approach in the modern age has been questioned, but it is considered to be at the very heart of Athletic. The debate will come should Athletic face a choice between sporting failure or an abandonment of these values. It’s one which could split Athletic to its core.