The club reported a £3.3million profit for the year up to June 30, 2024. Without the club-record sale of the midfielder, the figure would have been a £17.2m loss which is similar to 12 months prior.
The departures of Thomas Kaminski and Ash Phillips, who joined Luton and Tottenham respectively, also factored into the latest accounts.
“The club is losing a lot of money,” Maguire told BBC Radio Lancashire. “On a day to day basis, it has lost just shy of £400,000 per week and that is par for the course as far as Rovers are concerned.
“What stood out this year was the sale of Sammie (Szmodics) and Wharton, they dug the club out of a hole. On the back of that, it converted the losses into just about a break-even point.
“It shows how difficult it is to operate in the Championship. Rovers have got a competitive wage budget, not one which is going to knock everyone else out of the water.
“The club has also got to compete with those who have parachute payments who have just come down from the Premier League.
“Very modest investment in players and ultimately, it is the budget which is set by the Venky’s which determined what is being spent on a year by year basis.”
Rovers were tipped by many to be battling relegation again this season but have had an impressive campaign so far, only sitting outside the play-off places on goal difference with11 games to go.
“There are other clubs in Lancashire who have spent considerably more in historic years but they have had the benefit of parachute payments. It does make it very difficult,” Maguire explained.
“The problem is if you are spending £119 on wages for every £100 that comes through the door, where do you find money to invest in players?”
He added: “Trying to work out the Venky’s gameplan in all of this, given that Rovers have now lost more than £300million in total, just leaves you scratching your head.
“You are not going to get your money back from selling the club so do they continue to limp on in the current relationship, which is a fractured one, or cut their losses and try to find a new owner who is willing to try to change things around?”
The strategic report in the latest accounts reiterated that Rovers have Venky’s financial backing. Forecasts for the next three years highlight the need for investment, which the owners have given assurances they will provide.
“Football is an industry which defies traditional business logic,” said Maguire. “If I was running a nightclub, green grocers or garage and was paying out £120 in wages for every £100 which comes through the door, I would close the business down.
“But football is part hobby, part trophy asset, part vanity scheme so traditional business sense goes out the window.
“If you have got an owner who is willing to lose somewhere between £10m-20m each year, it is a bit like playing poker and that is your entry fee to be at the table. There are an awful lot of extremely rich people who want to be at that particular poker table.”
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