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The debt crisis at English football clubs was highlighted today by news that the owners of Liverpool lost £42.6 million last year.
Accounts filed at Companies House showed that US owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett paid £36.5 million in interest to service the debt taken on to buy the Merseyside club.
Auditor KPMG also warned of a "material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt upon the group's ability to continue as a going concern".
It came as Hicks and Gillett continued to look for outside investment so Liverpool can mount a serious challenge to champions Manchester United.
They are also looking for outside investment to shore up the club's finances and to renegotiate the terms on loans from Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia.
The news of Liverpool's debt burden came in the same week that an annual report by Deloitte showed that the total debt among the 20 Premier League clubs hit £3.1 billion in the 2007-8 season.
Liverpool secured a record turnover of £159.1 million and profits of £30.2 million, according to the Anfield club's accounts but its net debt soared to £299.5 million.
Hicks and Gillett bought Liverpool in February 2007 but have so far failed to win any major trophies.
They promised to build a new stadium but debt levels at the club have cast doubt on the plans and in the accounts it was admitted that "the opening of the new stadium will be delayed until 2012".
