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English Premier League clubs owe more money than all of their rivals from Europe’s other top divisions put together, it has emerged.

An official Uefa report – The European Club Footballing Landscape – seen by the Guardian calculates the combined debts of 18 Premier League clubs at just under 4m Euros, about four times the figure for Spain’s La Liga.

In reality, total Premier League debts are even higher because two of the most indebted clubs, Portsmouth and West Ham, were not granted Uefa licences for the period the report deals with due to their financial difficulties.

The report, which is due to be published in the coming weeks, analyses the 2007/08 annual accounts – the latest available – of all 732 clubs licensed by Uefa.

The Premier League made considerably more money from television and other commercial income than its rivals (122m Euros on average at the 18 clubs) but clubs were also more reliant on money borrowed from owners and banks.

"English clubs contain on their balance sheets an estimated 56 per cent of Europe-wide commercial debt," the report said.

Uefa will use the report as further evidence of the need for its Financial Fair Play rules, which will require clubs to break even financially from 2012/13.

In the report foreword, Uefa's president Michel Platini argued that the figures demonstrate "increasingly clear warning signs" and claimed that Uefa's plans are necessary "for the health of European club football".

Gianni Infantino, Uefa's general secretary, pointed to the financial crisis at Portsmouth as proof that more needs to be done to help clubs become more sustainable.

"The English Premier League clubs have higher revenues, but it is worrying to see such huge debt,” he added. “If it is borrowed to fuel spending on players, the problem comes when you cannot borrow any more money and can no longer pay the debts."