TEN years ago an AFC Bournemouth side led by Kevin Bond were nursing the wounds of a crushing last minute defeat to Brighton in League One.

The defeat played its part in the team's eventual relegation to the bottom tier of the Football League.

Roll forward to the present day, and despite failing to claim a win in Sussex on new year's day, the now Premier League Cherries have been ranked as the 65th strongest financial power in global football.

The ranking comes from the new Soccerex Football Finance 100 report published by the football business and events organisation.

Described as a "ground-breaking" annual study, the table is filled with footballing heavyweights and topped by Manchester City.

Five key variables are used - playing assets, fixed assets, money in the bank, potential owner investment and net debt - to deliver a Football Finance Index (FFI) score.

AFC Bournemouth are joined by 16 other Premier League clubs in the top 100 rankings - Huddersfield, Watford and West Brom are the omissions from the English top-flight.

Cherries position in the table is above former European Cup winners Marseille and Feyenoord, as well as South American giants Boca Juniors and Sao Paulo.

A spokesperson for Soccerex told the Daily Echo that the value of the club's players (€126m), money in the bank (€45m) and potential for owner investment were the key contributing factors to the ranking.

The report claims AFC Bournemouth have a net debt of €71m.

The analysis to produce the findings is based on clubs' published balance sheets and reports, alongside information sourced from UEFA, Financial Times and Forbes.

Soccerex marketing director, David Wright, said: “We’re delighted to reveal the results of our first Soccerex Football Finance 100 study which highlight how the global football landscape has shifted over the past two decades.

“We wanted to create a study that provided a broader evaluation of football finances, one that reflected the modern reality of football, impacted by increased owner investment and the need for better financial management.

“By looking at factors like asset value, debt levels and crucially the amount the owner or ownership group could invest in the context of their direct environment, the report evaluates both the financial standing of each club and the economic potential they have in the market.

"The results have certainly been eye-catching.”