More than half of English clubs are broke.

Isak was Liverpool's blockbuster signing in the summer of 2015.

Liverpool shook up the market by splashing out €150 million on Alexander Isak and another €120 million on Florian Wirtz. But behind the glitz and glamour of these record-breaking figures lies a harsh truth: English football is shaking to its very foundations.

According to the latest report from Fair Games, more than half of the clubs in England's four professional leagues are in a state of technical insolvency. Only one-fifth of the clubs are in a balanced financial situation, and a mere 11 out of 94 teams have enough money to pay players' salaries for three months. Even more worrying, 43 clubs have less than a month's worth of cash in the bank to survive.

This situation exposes a bitter contradiction: while the transfer market witnesses billion-euro deals, within the system, many teams are rotting away due to financial recklessness and poor governance. Bury – a club that disappeared in 2020 and then had to be re-established, or Sheffield Wednesday – a team recently struggling to pay salaries and find a new owner – are just typical examples.

It's no coincidence that the British government decided to establish the independent financial regulator, the IFR, to oversee the finances of football clubs. However, reports reveal an alarming situation: of the 20 Premier League teams, only Brighton & Hove Albion meet the minimum standards.

In the lower leagues, only Cambridge United, Carlisle United, and Wimbledon are on the "safe list". Even including semi-professional leagues, Bath City - a small club - is the only team that fully meets the IFR requirements.

Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, stated frankly: “If anyone doubted the need for a governing body, today’s report answers that question. Financial recklessness is rampant, good governance is rare, and ethical issues are virtually absent from club boardrooms.”

Florian Wirtz is also Liverpool's most expensive new signing.

According to the plan, the IFR will be established by the end of this year. The British government sees this as a continuation of a “long journey toward transparency,” stemming from the Super League shock and a series of financial crises that threatened to wipe out many clubs.

This body will have the power to impose mandatory legal checks on owners, issue new standards on fan involvement in club governance, protect assets through legislation, and, notably, ban teams from joining "closed leagues" like the Super League.

English football may remain the center of the global player market, where records are broken every summer. But behind the scenes, more than half of the clubs are living on short-term gains. The big question is: without tightening the system, will the Premier League and English football as a whole remain resilient in the face of the impending financial storm?