LONDON – English football clubs cemented their position as the sport’s wealth generators, making up more than half of Europe’s top earners, with Manchester City taking the top spot for a second year running.
The Premier League champions’ revenue, boosted by a sharp increase in commercial income, was 13 per cent up on the previous year at €731 million (S$1.04 billion), according to Deloitte’s annual Money League.
Real Madrid was second on €714 million. Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Bayern Munich were the only other non-English teams in the top 10.
English football has been dominant for years, but the 2023 report highlights by just how much as clubs bounced back from the crippling effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Deloitte ranks teams by the revenue they bring in, rather than their profitability.
Liverpool moved up four places to third, their highest-ever position. It overtook Manchester United for the first time. The Reds’ revenues were boosted after a run to the Champions League final.
Arsenal replaced Italy’s Juventus in the top 10, with 16 English clubs in the top 30. All of the Premier League’s 20 teams being ranked in the top 30 are now a possibility, Deloitte said.
“The question now is whether other leagues can close the gap, likely by driving the value of future international rights, or if the Premier League will be virtually untouchable, in revenue terms,” said Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
The dominance of English clubs is causing increased tension among their rivals. Javier Tebas, chairman of Spain’s La Liga, said that the teams distort the market because they are financed by their owners and are allowed to sign players even when they have losses.
Spanish football is running years behind the Premier League, he said in an interview.
Tebas is attempting to close the gap, in part via a €2 billion deal struck in 2021 with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. The majority of the funds are targeted for new or refurbished stadiums and also the development of the digital business.
The Premier League’s combined revenue grew by 8 per cent to €5.5 billion in 2020-21, according to Deloitte’s latest Annual Review of Football Finance published last August. The Spanish league made €2.95 billion.
Tebas is hoping that the growth in direct-to-consumer broadcasting will help boost the Spanish league’s global appeal.
Still, the Premier League has simply more ability to spend. Nottingham Forest, 13th in the table, spent about US$150 million (S$198.3 million) on transfers over the summer, about a third of La Liga’s entire total outlay. BLOOMBERG
