Leeds United rivals Leicester City accounts reveal huge losses after Premier League charge

Leeds United promotion rivals Leicester City have posted a pre-tax loss of nearly £90m in their latest accounts. The accounts cover the 2022-23 season which saw the Foxes relegated to the Championship and they come just a couple of weeks after the club were charged by the Premier League for an alleged breach of the league's current Profit and Sustainability rules.

Top flight clubs are permitted to lose up to £105m over a three-year period in the top flight. However, the £89.7m Leicester lost last season alone takes their total losses over the last three-year period to more than £215m.

What happens next remains to be seen given Leicester will be able to benefit from add backs, which include spending on the club's academy and women's team, but it could see them in breach of the rules and therefore they risk being handed a points deduction next season, whatever league they find themselves in.

The Foxes did sell players last season, with the likes of Wesley Fofana and James Maddison leaving the club, but they also paid out £206m in wages over the year, which was one of the highest wage bills outside the big six and relegation proved costly, too, not just when it comes to Premier League prize money, with revenue of £177m representing a 17 per cent drop from the previous year.

"After a sustained period of growth and success for the club during the last decade, the 2022-23 season was a significant setback, the consequences of which will be felt for some time," Leicester chief executive Susan Whelan said.

"We must now focus on rebuilding and seeking to return to and re-establishing ourselves in the Premier League.

"Having achieved finishing positions in the Premier League of fifth, fifth and eighth in the three preceding seasons, our targets and associated budgets for 2022-23 were entirely reasonable.

"However, for a club such as ours, whose sustained sporting achievements have justified the levels of investment required to compete with the most established clubs and pursue our ambition, a season of such significant under-performance on the pitch presents financial challenges, particularly from the perspective of the game's current Profitability and Sustainability rules."

The EFL also took action against Leicester last month by putting a transfer embargo on the club. The Foxes released a number of defiant statements to reveal they have opened legal proceedings against both governing bodies.