Premier League teams no longer dominate football’s rich list

LONDON – The Premier League is renowned for being the best football league in the world, but the fiercely competitive tournament does not always translate into money.  

English teams have slipped out of the top four of Deloitte’s Money League for the first time in 29 years, according to an annual survey of the highest revenue generating football clubs globally. 

Instead, the top four is made up of clubs who consistently dominate their respective leagues, almost always winning domestic trophies and qualifying for the most lucrative European and global tournaments. 

Spain’s Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as Germany’s Bayern Munich and France’s Paris Saint-Germain, now make up the top four.

Since Deloitte launched the table in 1997, there has always been an English team in the top four places of the league, which measures annual revenue figures but not profits and losses for top football clubs.

Despite winning the Premier League, Liverpool could only make it to fifth. It is the first time they are the top English club, helped by a return to the Champions League and a 7 per cent rise in commercial revenue, which was attributed to hosting additional non-match-day events at Anfield.

Manchester United’s drop to eighth in the list was due to poor performances, which significantly cut their broadcast revenue from €258 million (S$387 million) to €206 million. This loss stemmed primarily from missing out on the Champions League and finishing 15th domestically. With no European football qualification and early exits from domestic cups, they will have zero football revenue this season outside English competitions.

Manchester City dropped four places to sixth due to a lower Premier League finish and an earlier Champions League exit compared to the previous season.

The significant revenue generated by Premier League broadcast rights, particularly in international markets, still led to English clubs filling the lower half of the top 10 global revenue generators. 

Commercial revenue has become increasingly vital for the financial models of Europe’s biggest clubs, as they capitalise on their brands and continuously seek innovative income streams beyond traditional match-day earnings.

“It is no coincidence that the clubs in the top half of the ranking are those with the ability to focus on commercial revenue development, particularly as domestic broadcast rights plateau,” said Tim Bridge, lead partner in the Deloitte Sports Business Group.

“There is a pivotal shift in some club business models with an increased focus on maximising the impact of their brand and their stadium assets.

“The presence of on-site breweries, hotels and restaurants is now commonplace and illustrates a strategic move to diversify income and create year-round entertainment destinations.”

Top-placed Real, with a recently completed state-of-the-art stadium, maintained their top spot in the table with €1.16 billion in revenue. They reported a 6 per cent decrease in match-day revenue, but saw commercial revenue grow by 23 per cent, boosted by improved merchandise sales and new commercial partners.

Barcelona secured the second spot with €975 million in revenue, despite playing away from the Camp Nou due to its ongoing reconstruction.

They have since returned to the stadium, but with restricted capacity, awaiting completion.

A significant factor in their 27 per cent revenue growth from the previous season was a one-off boost of €70 million generated by the introduction of personal seat licences.

Third place was taken by Bayern, with revenue of €861 million. The German club were lifted into the Deloitte top three for the first time since the 2020-21 season, thanks in part to a boost in broadcast revenue from participating in the Club World Cup.

Meanwhile, Champions League winners PSG, like all French teams, saw their revenue negatively impacted by a downturn in their domestic broadcast deal.

Ashley Mould, principal of sports analytics and advisory at law firm LCP, notes that the big clubs in Spain, Germany, Italy, and France have been strategically increasing revenue in recent years.

Examples include La Liga’s expansion into the US and Middle East, Real’s Bernabeu stadium development, and the international brand building efforts of PSG, Serie A, and the Bundesliga.
BLOOMBERG, AFP