A few West Ham United fans have been reacting on social media, after Claret & Hugh claimed the Irons still owe £87million for transfers carried out during Manuel Pellegrini’s time in east London.
It is alleged the Hammers spent over £200m on transfers during Pellegrini’s ill-fated spell as boss, with the Chilean at the helm as players such as Sebastien Haller, Felipe Anderson, Pablo Fornals and Issa Diop arrived for lofty fees.
West Ham agreed with some of the selling sides to spread payments over a number of instalments, leaving the London Stadium outfit in a position where they continue to owe the equivalent of signing two Andersons (£36m, rising to £41.5m) and still having change left over to add depth elsewhere.
The Irons are believed to be paying off their transfers at a rate of £5m a month, though doubt persists over a £5.4m fee owed to Eintracht Frankfurt for the transfer of Haller last summer.
West Ham also boasted an annual wage bill of £136m at its peak (£2,615,384-per-week), though brought that figure down with the departures of Andy Carroll (£90k-p/w) and Marko Arnautovic (£100k-p/w) last year.
Andriy Yarmolenko is the Iron’s current highest earner at £115k-p/w, with the former Borussia Dortmund winger taking a weekly wage worth more than Jack Wilshere (£100k-p/w), Anderson (£85k-p/w) and Michail Antonio (£70k-p/w).
Word of West Ham’s debt to other sides has left some fans enraged, although some were surprised it was not higher having been flashing the cash over the past two seasons.
This club is killing my soul pic.twitter.com/9fjrTG9m1m
— _ (@w95_____) August 14, 2020
Surprised it’s that low.
— Fazzamania (@fazzamania) August 14, 2020
i’m out
— Alan Rzepa (@alanrzepa) August 14, 2020
One fan has suggested the in excess of £200m spent under Pellegrini has been entirely wasted as they have not seen any progress from it, with West Ham having to fight off relegation this season after falling from 13th under David Moyes in the 2017/18 season.
Pellegrini led West Ham slightly up the table in his only full season in charge but followed a 10th-placed finish with a dreadful start that led to his sacking, with the Hammers sat just a point above the drop zone when the decision was made to fire the Chilean.
Would’ve been nice to have seen that £200 million 🤷🏼♂️ https://t.co/fukY5PZNtg
— Corey (@CoreyKemp_) August 14, 2020
The level of debt West Ham owe to other clubs has also led some fans to ponder the impact of the recent departures seen in east London, with the Hammers parting company with Arnautovic for £22.4m and recouping fees for Javier Hernandez, Edimilson Fernandes, Pedro Obiang, Lucas Perez and Cheikhou Kouyate.
Surely we are still owed money from the sales of Perez, Obiang, Pea, Arnie, Kouyate! Edimilson & hey maybe even Ayew!
— Richie (@richiewhite25) August 14, 2020
What about all the players we sold and Haller was never fully paid so you can’t add that in
— Graham Sparks (@UlsterWasp) August 14, 2020