The Bank of England comes to the rescue of the richest clubs in the Premier

Arsenal received 120 million pounds sterling, about 135 million euros, directly from the Bank of England last week.

The loan results from the London club's enrollment in the British Government's Business Financing Aid program to combat the economic crisis derived from covid-19 (CCFF) and is not the first case of a club of the Premier who takes advantage of this form of rescue in a scenario of public debt unparalleled since the Second World War.

Tottenham received 197 million euros from British taxpayers last June and voices of protest are emerging, both outside and within the football industry.

The most modest clubs say they feel discriminated against due to credit facilities that not everyone can claim.

"This government aid corrupts the competition," complained the president of a Premier club to the

Financial Times

, asking, like other indignant colleagues, not to identify him.

"Either we all agree to the CCFF or it should not be allowed for anyone."

The British Ministry of the Economy introduced the CCFF in March 2020. It is a scheme designed for large companies which, according to the official version, "make a material contribution to economic activity in the UK".

This criterion is measured by figures such as the number of national employees, the magnitude of their income in the country, the size of the British clientele and the number of operating premises.

Arsenal is owned by Kroenke Sports, the multinational company owned by American billionaire Stan Kroenke, linked to the Walmart supermarket chain, owner of the Saint Louis? Rams of the NFL and the Denver Nuggets of the NBA.

The Arsenal Supporters Association maintains that the purpose of the loan is to ensure the club's cash flow should the Emirates stadium remain closed until the end of this season, a circumstance that would imply losses of 178 million euros.

Interest at 0.5%

Businesses that receive loans through the CCFF pay little interest.

Tottenham reported that its loan expires in May, and its payment can be extended for one more year with interest of 0.5%.

According to

The Athletic

portal

, Leicester, West Ham, Sheffield, Burnley and Southampton, five Premier League clubs without the operational dimensions required by the CCFF, have borrowed through private banks at much higher interest rates.

Southampton received a £ 80 million loan from investment company MSD at 9.14% interest.

Faced with criticism from managers of medium and small teams, the Government insists that all professional clubs are free to resort to aid programs other than CCFF, such as the Loan for the Interruption of Activity of Large Companies for Covid (CLBILS).

But Premier executives indicate that the CLBILS program is not as attractive as the private banks that channel public loans do not offer as good conditions as the Bank of England.

In theory, the British Government imposes on the companies benefiting from official credit spending restrictions, especially strict regarding the payment of bonuses to their managers.

The Ministry of Economy sets out its wish: “The purpose of the CCFF is to help large companies to keep their jobs and their suppliers.

We hope that all those businesses that have received loans will use them in a way that is consistent with that objective ”.

There is no specific control of signings.

Tottenham was the third club in Europe to hire the most footballers last summer, for a total of 110 million euros;

while Arsenal signed for 82 million.

Arsenal's last acquisition before Christmas was Thomas Partey, for which he paid 40 million euros to Atlético.

The government aid to the richest football in the world comes after the Premier registered losses in its last season without a pandemic.

According to

The Athletic

, in the 2018-19 academic year the top English clubs reported losses of 670 million euros, an amount that fuels a gross debt of about 6,000 million euros.

Conditions have deteriorated further with the pandemic.

Also for the Bank of England.

The British public debt in 2020 exceeded two trillion euros, a figure that had not been reached since the postwar period.