Footy Cap
Promoted clubs · Accounts
Lommel owes City Football Group €19.9m. Inside the promoted clubs' accounts
Lommel spent €4.57 on staff for every €1 of turnover, funded by CFG loans. How Troyes, Venezia, Viseu, Marítimo and Osnabrück compare.
Footy Cap desk ·
Lommel SK, back in Belgium's top flight for the first time in 23 years, owed €19.9m to City Football Group companies at 30 June 2025, against turnover of €3.7m. Its 2024/25 accounts show €16.87m of staff costs, or €4.57 for every euro of turnover (NBB filing; Staatsbladmonitor).
Staff costs above revenue are common in these accounts. Four of the six newly promoted clubs with filed figures on Footy Cap spent more on staff than their reported revenue line.
Lommel: a CFG club funded by CFG loans
Lommel joined City Football Group, the owner of Manchester City, in May 2020 (CFG). It won promotion through a play-off against FCV Dender (Pro League).
The balance sheet shows €19,916,807 of subordinated loans owed to affiliated companies, and €890,401 of cash. That is €19.03m of net debt (NBB filing). Subordinated means the lender ranks behind other creditors, which is how owners usually lend to their own clubs.
Turnover in 2024/25, a Challenger Pro League season, was €3,689,259 (Staatsbladmonitor). Staff costs were €16,867,226 (NBB filing). The gap is the owner's money. Lommel also took in €3.2m in transfer fees and paid none in 2025/26, by Transfermarkt's count (Transfermarkt).
Why the loans matter
The loans are what keep the wage bill paid. Lommel lost €20,872,368 in 2024/25, up from €8,530,526 the year before (NBB filing). With turnover at €3.7m, the club does not cover its costs from football income; the owner covers the gap. Our health grade is an F (21.0), dragged down by debt at about 516% of revenue and staff costs at about 457%. Transfers are the one part that scores well: Lommel sold more than it bought last season.
Lommel: financial picture (2024/25 unless stated)
| Revenue | €3,689,259 turnover; mix not published (Staatsbladmonitor) |
| Staff costs | €16,867,226, all staff (NBB) |
| Staff costs / revenue | about 457% |
| Net debt | €19,026,406: €19.92m subordinated loans owed to affiliated companies (City Football Group), less €0.89m cash (NBB) |
| Net transfer spend | −€3.2m in 2025-26 (net seller); earlier seasons not yet on our page (Transfermarkt) |
| Profit / loss | loss of €20,872,368 (2023/24: loss of €8,530,526) (NBB) |
| Footy Cap health grade | F (21.0): heavy debt and staff costs against small revenue |
| Spending rule | no published Belgian Pro League salary cap; not in a UEFA competition in 2025-26 |
Ratios are our division of the cited figures.
Troyes: CFG's other promoted club
CFG also owns Troyes, which it bought in September 2020 (CFG) and which is back in Ligue 1. Its 2024/25 Ligue 2 accounts show €11.2m of revenue excluding player trading and €22.29m of staff pay including social charges (DNCG club accounts).
Unlike Lommel, Troyes had net cash: €7.69m in the bank against €240k of financial debt (DNCG club accounts).
Player sales covered part of the gap between pay and revenue. Its accounts show a €32.05m loss before player trading, a €20.79m profit on player trading, and a net loss of €11.21m (DNCG club accounts). Our health grade is a C (51.4): the cash pile and net selling score well; small revenue and staff costs at about 199% of it do not.
Troyes: financial picture (2024/25 unless stated)
| Revenue | €11.20m excluding player trading: TV €4.30m, sponsors €3.64m, matchday €0.58m, other €2.69m (DNCG) |
| Staff costs | €22.29m incl. social charges (DNCG) |
| Staff costs / revenue | about 199% |
| Net debt | net cash €7.45m: €7.69m cash vs €0.24m financial debt (DNCG) |
| Net transfer spend | −€24.1m in 2025-26 (net seller); earlier seasons not yet on our page (Transfermarkt) |
| Profit / loss | net loss €11.21m, after a €20.79m player-trading profit (DNCG) |
| Footy Cap health grade | C (51.4): strong cash and trading, weak revenue and wage share |
| Spending rule | no Ligue 1 salary cap cited on our page; not in a UEFA competition in 2025-26 |
DNCG figures cover the club and its group companies (SASP, association, holding and service companies). Ratios are our division.
Six promoted clubs, 2024/25 accounts (year to 30 June 2025)
| Club | Revenue line | Staff costs | Staff per €1 | Net debt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Académico de Viseu to Primeira Liga | €1.04m | €7.62m | €7.29 | €27.14m | accounts |
| Marítimo to Primeira Liga | €1.05m | €7.20m | €6.86 | net cash €0.33m | accounts |
| Lommel to Belgian Pro League | €3.69m | €16.87m | €4.57 | €19.03m | accounts |
| Troyes to Ligue 1 | €11.20m | €22.29m | €1.99 | net cash €7.45m | accounts |
| Venezia to Serie A | €51.8m | €48.6m | €0.94 | net cash €5.1m | accounts |
| Osnabrück to 2. Bundesliga | €20.06m | €10.52m | €0.52 | not yet sourced | accounts |
Revenue lines differ by country and are not like-for-like: Portugal = sales and services (excludes some income); Belgium = turnover (code 70); France = DNCG revenue excluding player trading; Italy = value of production including €8.6m of player-sale gains; Germany = DFL "Rohergebnis" (revenue less cost of materials). "Staff per €1" is our division of the two columns. Net debt = borrowings minus cash, as on each club page.
Portugal: the steepest numbers, for different reasons
Académico de Viseu reported €1.04m of sales and services against €7.62m of staff costs (club accounts). It also carried €28.74m of loans from its majority owner, HOBRA GmbH & Co. KG, against €1.61m of cash, which gives €27.14m of net debt (club accounts).
Marítimo's ratio looks almost as stretched, €1.05m against €7.20m (club accounts). But its borrowings were just €73,434 against €400,168 of cash, so it had net cash (club accounts). The Portuguese revenue line is narrow and leaves out some income, so these ratios run high by construction.
Where staff costs sit below revenue
Venezia, back in Serie A, spent €48.6m on personnel against a €51.8m value of production, which includes €8.6m of player-sale gains (Calcio e Finanza). Osnabrück's €10.52m of staff costs sat against €20.06m on the DFL's revenue measure (DFL).
On our health grades, Marítimo is a C (51.6), Venezia a D (40.4), Osnabrück an F (34.9) and Académico de Viseu an F (15.4); each club page shows what drives the grade.
What we could not fill
Eleven of the 17 newly added promoted clubs still show "Not enough data" on Footy Cap. The Saudi and Turkish clubs publish no revenue, and Celta Fortuna is a reserve side with no accounts of its own. We leave those cells empty rather than estimate them.
See each club's grade and full figures on its page, or by league: Belgian Pro League, Ligue 1, Primeira Liga, Serie A, 2. Bundesliga.
Sources
- Lommel SK NV annual accounts FY 2024/25 (NBB)
- Staatsbladmonitor: Lommel SK NV
- City Football Group: Lommel SK
- City Football Group: Troyes joins as tenth club
- Pro League: Lommel promoted
- DNCG individual club accounts 2024/25
- Calcio e Finanza: Venezia accounts 2024/25
- Académico de Viseu SAD report and accounts 2024/25
- Marítimo SAD report and accounts 2024/25 (archived)
- DFL club financial figures, 2. Bundesliga 2026/27
- Transfermarkt: Challenger Pro League income and spending 2025/26
Footy Cap does not forecast. Figures are as published on the dates shown; where our pages and a source differ, we say so above.
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