Borussia Dortmund post €43.9M losses due to Covid-19 crisis
The Coronavirus pandemic caused Borussia Dortmund to make significant losses, with Hans-Joachim Watzke highlighting the need for fans to return.
Borussia Dortmund have recorded losses to the tune of 43.9 million euros for the 2019-20 financial year, the Bundesliga club revealed on Monday.
Turnstile receipts down
The Dortmund board presented the results, explaining the deficit was due to the coronavirus pandemic that meant BVB played only 12 league matches in front of capacity crowds at Signal Iduna Park this season.
"The entire past decade has been very good, both athletically and economically," said chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke, with Dortmund making a 17.4 million euro profit in the previous year. "In economic terms, we have always written black numbers in these years. Then coronavirus came."
ℹ️ Die Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA hat im Geschäftsjahr 2019/20 eine Bruttokonzerngesamtleistung in Höhe von 486,9 Millionen Euro erwirtschaftet. Das Konzernergebnis weist einen Fehlbetrag in Höhe von 43,9 Mio. Euro aus.
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) August 17, 2020
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Watzke warned the global crisis would continue to effect the club until supporters are allowed to return to matches. "We will only be in the black again if we have no restrictions on the crowds," he said. "But we have to be patient. Football is extremely difficult to imagine without fans. That is how long we have to hold out. That is how long we will hold out."
Dortmund are said to be demanding a 100 million pound fee from Manchester United for top transfer target Jadon Sancho.