Financial Plan
The sustainable trading model: sell at the right moment, never pay big wages for decline, buy from underexposed markets, and protect the registration quotas. Three scenarios, one rule — the first team improves every season.
The economics we operate in
Real-world foundations as of October 2026. In-game budgets override everything once the save starts.
The revenue engine
FY2025: ≈€102m revenue, ≈€11m profit, ≈€68m player-trading income as the single largest item. Transfers + UEFA money ≈ 70% of the budget — one missed European qualification flips the club to a loss. The model is sound; the dependency is the risk.
UEFA prize money 2026/27 (verified, Circular 48/2026)
UCL: €18.62m participation + €2.1m/win + €700k/draw. UEL: €4.31m + €450k/win. UECL: €3.17m + €400k/win. The UCL-vs-UECL participation gap (~€15.5m) is the largest controllable financial lever in the entire save — worth more than any single transfer decision.
Wage reality
Bill unpublished; ~€21m/yr estimated (unverified). Top-earner ceiling ≈€1.25m/yr. UEFA squad-cost-ratio phase-in reaches 70% from 2026/27. Conclusion: transfer-funded wage growth only — never fund wages from projected UEFA money that hasn't qualified yet.
Peer benchmarks
Dinamo Zagreb ≈€74m; Salzburg ≈€157m; Ferencváros ≈€52m budget with ≈€30m wages; Olympiacos ≈€50m UEFA revenue alone. Red Star out-earns every regional peer except Salzburg — the gap to the elite is a selling-structure gap, not a revenue gap.
The resale ceiling
Named sales 2024–26: Maksimović €14m (Zvezda→Leipzig), Milosavljević £13m (Zvezda→Bournemouth), Baturina €18m+ (Dinamo→Como), Bukari $7m, Enem €2m→€6m within one window. Cash ceiling for our own sales: €13–18m. Kostov is the first asset with a credible €25–30m+ profile.
Structure tools
Add-on-heavy sales (Maksimović, Baturina), sell-ons (10–25% region-standard), instalments on €1m+ deals, loans with obligations, free-transfer veterans (Arnautović, Veljković, Ristić) as squad filler. Exact instalment/agent economics undisclosed — regional practice, verify in-game.
Three scenarios
Switch between them. Bars are comparable across scenarios; every figure traces back to the trading plan in the First Window section.
Conservative
Minimal spend; internal promotion; targeted low-cost signingsBalanced
Sell selectively; fund 3–4 genuine improvementsAmbitious
Exceptional proceeds accelerate the squad without unsustainable wagesStanding rules of the trading model
- Sell on the upward curve — a player sold one season early costs goals; sold two seasons late, it costs the fee.
- No decline contracts — over-30s get one-year deals or performance-triggered options, never three-year declines.
- Buy underexposed — the second Balkan tier and expiring contracts are where the margin lives.
- Protect the asset — young contracts extended at 60+ senior appearances; sell-on clauses when we sell young.
- Structure over sticker — instalments and bonuses when cash flow demands; obligations only when we'd buy anyway.
- Quota-aware — every foreign slot spends a domestic slot; every signing is checked against List A/B and bonus-player rules first.
astro build.