Fulham rocked by record £24m loss

Fulham made the biggest loss in British football history last year,

The club owned by Harrods boss Mohamed Fayed made a staggering deficit of £24 million in the year to 30 June 2001 as the club speculated to gain a place in the Premiership.

Jean Tigana's team ran away with the First Division as a result but club figures show the cost to Fulham was £10m more than the £14.1m loss in the previous 12 months.

The losses were higher than Newcastle's deficit of £18.9m in 2000 and will further fuel speculation about the health of the Egyptian mogul's business empire.

Staff costs, including players' wages, were the biggest financial drain, with the overall wage bill leaping more than £8m to £19.3m during the period. That was before Fayed splashed a huge £31.8m on players such as Steed Malbranque, Steve Marlet and Edwin van der Sar, who have spearheaded the club's Premiership campaign this season.

Some of these player costs will hit the club in the present year's figures, which will not be reported until next April.

To offset the huge losses, Fulham expect income of around £40m from participating in the Premiership this season and next from the new television deal. They will also make £1.5m from a lucrative FA Cup run that eventually ended in a semi-final defeat by Chelsea.

Fulham's financial director Andy Ambler defended the losses. He said today: "To build a club for the future involves a substantial financial commitment.

"To attract top-class players the club is forced to pay competitive wages which are unfortunately a prerequisite of the football climate.

"During this process of investing heavily in the building blocks that ensure a successful future, it was inevitable that the club would suffer losses. This only goes to prove the unequivocal commitment of our chairman, Mohamed Fayed, in securing a future for Fulham, by accepting this as a necessary part of the club's development".

Fayed will also take comfort from an upturn in match receipts and season-ticket sales. Last year showed a rising trend, which helped boost turnover to £9m against £7.6m a year earlier.

The report today also reveals that the club's net debts spiralled to £61.7m in the last financial year against £40.6m 12 months earlier.

Chelsea recently reported halfyear losses had worsened to £3.9m from £2.3m in the same period last year. Tottenham moved from profits of £1.3m to a £2.6m half-year loss.

Sam has dig at Fulham's flops