PARIS - France's professional soccer reported a deficit of $185.74 million (130 million euros) in last season, largely up from $48.57 million (34 million euros) during 2008-2009 season as economic crisis shadowed the football business, the Professional Football League (LFP) said Tuesday.

"The French professional football faced incontestable difficulties. The football, like the other economic sectors, was hit by the crisis," said Frederic Thiriez, the league's president.

"It is undeniable that the economic environment has significantly contributed to the deterioration of the accounts of football," he added in the LFP's annual report.

Thiriez noted the financial problems of the "traditional buyers of Britain and Spain" that negatively affected the market transfer and the revenue of French clubs in turn.

"French clubs did not achieve the expected capital gains during the periods of mercato (a French footballing term describing the period during which players can be transferred between two clubs), " the league president said.