Belgian club KRC Genk suffered a record €14.9M loss after missing out on European football and "falling revenue from both outgoing transfers and season ticket sales," according to Samindra Kunti of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Genk was "flying high three seasons ago after participating in the Champions League" and the sale of both Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois to Chelsea. The club closed the '11-12 season with a profit of €28M. Ever since the club has "declined steadily." The club raised its budget and "overspent with wage costs doubling" from €10M to €20M. Genk presented its annual financial results and was "forced to disclose a record loss" of €14.9M. Genk's budget has dropped from €33M to €18M ($19.2M) as a result. Genk Financial Dir Filip Aerden said, "We had budgeted €9 million, but ticked off at only €1.4 million in revenue. The absence of European football resulted in €4 million less. A downturn in the sales of season tickets and business seats resulted in €1.3 million less. All in all, this is a very heavy loss and the only reason we were able to absorb this is thanks to our financial buffer of the past. But it is clear that we can not do this again" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 11/18).
