By Adam Williams, Finance & Governance Correspondent

5th May, 2023 | 12:31pm

Revealed: Sunderland have lost £252m as paperwork uncovered

Sunderland have lost £251.9million since they last turned a profit 16 years ago, Football Insider analysis shows.

The Black Cats announced their financial results for 2021-22 last Friday (28 April), presenting a loss of £6m for a season that saw them promoted from League One at the fourth attempt.

That deficit was their second smallest since 2005-06 when they posted a £6.1m surplus, which was the last time the club was in the green at the end of a financial year.

Their cumulative losses over that period – during which they have spent 10 seasons in the top flight, two in the second tier and four in the third – are £251.9m.

The biggest individual shortfall came in 2015-16 when they lost £33m, closely followed by losses of £31m in 2011-12, £26.5m in 2014-15, and £26.2m in 2009-10.

The £6m loss last season was an improvement on £9.5m the previous campaign, while turnover also soared from £10.7m to £26.1m after the end of financially prohibitive lockdown restrictions.

They generated almost twice as much cash as any other League One team, thanks mainly due to their vastly superior matchday and commercial income of a combined £21m.

Their revenue will jump again in 2022-23, reflecting their return to the Championship where they remain in the hunt for a play-off spot ahead of the final day.

Sunderland has changed hands three times in the 16 years since they last turned a profit, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus the latest to take majority control of the club.

He upped his stake to 51 per cent during 2021-22 and acquired a further seven per cent from former majority owner Stewart Donald in March this year.

In other news, Sunderland legend in advanced talks with EFL club.