Nottingham Forest’s success on the pitch this season deserves all of the credit, but the work that Evangelos Marinakis has done financially is also worth noting.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s stock is at an all-time high given what he has produced with his Forest squad this season, breaking into the Champions League positions and not looking out of place in the race for European football.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 23 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 56 | 21 | 35 | 56 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 49 | 22 | 27 | 50 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 40 | 27 | 13 | 47 |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 47 | 31 | 16 | 43 |
Ashley Cole wasn’t convinced by Forest earlier in the season which was a common sentiment across football, most famously seen when Gary Lineker predicted Forest to be relegated at the start of the campaign.
The on-pitch expertise has only been matched by some of the work at the boardroom level by the Forest owner. Murillo signed a new contract alongside Chris Wood, maintaining the core of the team for Espirito Santo whilst also protecting the future of the club as Forest will demand a world record fee to sell Murillo.
Murillo’s contract is a sizable plus for the club, but even more so are the recent statistics surrounding Forest’s finances which further emphasise the positive work Marinakis has been doing.
Where Nottingham Forest rank alongside Premier League rivals in key financial statistic
With a lack of business in the January window, Forest fans will be expecting the financial aspect of the club to be looking healthy right now, something backed up by football finance expert Kieran Maguire’s latest social media posts.
Forest have a net spend of £16m this season, thanks mainly to significant sales such as Moussa Niakhate’s move to Lyon, who also took Orel Mangala from the City Ground.
In comparison, the likes of Manchester City and Bournemouth have a significantly higher net spend than Forest, alongside Brighton who are a remarkable £190m down in the 24/25 season.
Sensible signings such as Nikola Milenkovic’s arrival from Fiorentina for just £12m have improved Espirito Santo’s side for a fraction of the cost that their quality now warrants, which is both impressive but also vital when considering the same stat from the last five years instead.
Nottingham Forest’s clever financial decisions were necessary
Marinakis’ more frugal approach has meant that Forest’s PSR concerns were eased significantly going into this season, which would’ve been a relief when considering the club’s net spend over the last five seasons.
Maguire continued his thread to look at the net spend of the last three seasons, in which Forest were promoted into the Premier League. Forest’s net spend was up at £218m for the last three seasons, a figure that ranks them seventh amongst the rest of the Premier League.
Spending such sums was clearly unsustainable given Forest’s previous flirting with relegation under Steve Cooper, which makes Espirito Santo’s work this season even more valuable to Forest than just on the pitch.
Marinakis promised Espirito Santo a transfer bounty should Forest qualify for Europe this season which is an exciting prospect given the financial restraint shown in the recent transfer windows, but the Forest owner must be careful not to resort the club back into the upper echelons of net spend without ensuring value in the signings.
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