La Liga scores record commercial revenue in post-pandemic comeback
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Barcelona's Dani Olmo (right) celebrates after scoring in the 1-0 La Liga win over Mallorca on April 22.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
MADRID – Spain’s top football league posted record commercial revenue in 2023-24, while recurring revenue surpassed €5 billion (S$7.46 billion) for the first time since the pandemic, though still falling shy of pre-Covid-19 heights.
La Liga’s €5.049 billion from its four traditional recurring revenue pillars (match day, commercial, broadcasting and Uefa prize money) represents a 3.2 per cent increase over the previous season, riding a wave of fan enthusiasm that saw a record 16 million spectators fill stadiums at an average 75.4 per cent capacity.
The impressive attendance figures helped drive match day revenue up 4.8 per cent, while commercial income climbed 7.4 per cent to exceed €1 billion for the second consecutive year.
“After the pandemic, we said it would take four or five years to recover the Covid losses, and that has been the case,” La Liga president Javier Tebas told reporters.
While recurring revenue was up, total revenue dipped 10 per cent to €5.125 billion compared to last season’s inflated €5.69 billion, which included half of the €1.99 billion from La Liga’s deal with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.
“Taking away the effects of last year’s levers, which distorted the total numbers, you can see that we are a sustainable league,” Tebas added.
La Liga projects attendances will surge to over 18 million fans next season and the league will finally break the pre-pandemic recurring revenue record of €5.065 billion set in 2019-20.
Tebas also announced changes to La Liga’s strict Financial Fair Play rules, introducing a minimum wage cap of 30 per cent of a club’s turnover. It is a move aimed at preventing financially troubled clubs like Sevilla and Barcelona from entering seasons with lower wage caps that have hampered their ability to register and sign new players.
Barcelona and La Liga have fought a fierce battle off the pitch in recent months regarding the registration of players Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, which ended with Spain’s National Sports Council (CSD) allowing the duo to play for the club until the end of the season.
Olmo scored inside the first minute of the second half to earn a hard-fought 1-0 home win against Mallorca on April 22, extending their lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table to seven points with five games to go.
Real were in action at Getafe on April 23, with the match kicking off after press time.
REUTERS
