Collectively, the league's revenue was $2.77 billion last year, with Manchester United accounting for some $331 million, Chelsea $301 million, Arsenal $263 million and
Liverpool $240 million. However, the league spent about half as much as it earned on player salaries. In all, $1.7 billion was spent on player wages-while Chelsea alone spending $226 million. Four
other clubs paid more than $100 million.
Such spending and a string of takeovers by foreign investors have resulted in unprecedented amounts of debt for the league. Collectively, Deloitte said the EPL is $3.24 billion in debt, with Manchester United's Malcolm Glazer accounting for more a third of that figure. Glazer took out $1.2 billion in loans when he bought United for $1.6 billion in May 2005. Without that debt, which doesn't count on the club's books, the league is just $2 billion in the red. Just nine Premier League clubs turned a profit last year, with Arsenal leading the way.