LONDON • La Liga champions Real Madrid recorded overall income of €681.2 million (S$1.1 billion) in the 2019-20 season despite an 8 per cent drop in revenue, a study from auditing firm KPMG revealed on Sunday.

The Spanish title holders' revenue was the highest among the teams who won domestic titles in Europe's six major leagues.

German Bundesliga and European champions Bayern Munich recorded €607.2 million, followed by Premier League winners Liverpool (€557 million) and French Ligue 1's Paris Saint-Germain (€540.6 million).

The study also included Italian Serie A's Juventus, whose revenue totalled €401.4 million, and Portuguese Primeira Liga victors Porto, who had the lowest revenue among the champions at €87.3 million.

All six domestic champions suffered a decrease in operating revenue due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"A crisis almost always provides the opportunity to highlight major failings in the business model and also to drive innovation and evolution," KPMG's global head of sports and the study's author, Andrea Sartori, said.

"So it is encouraging to see football's governing bodies, associations and clubs discussing reforms regarding competitions calendar, cost control measures, alterations to the economics and governance of domestic and European competitions."

With matches cancelled or played behind closed doors or in front of severely restricted numbers from last March, all European champions barring Porto suffered the biggest blow through loss of match-day income, with Real being the hardest hit with a loss of €34.9 million.

Broadcasting income was also reduced for all six champions, with Champions League performances playing a role. Last season's finalists Bayern and PSG both registered a 4 per cent decrease in their TV income, while Porto suffered a 63 per cent drop, mainly due to their failure to qualify for the competition.

However, commercial income increased for Liverpool (14 per cent), Bayern (4 per cent) and Real (2 per cent) - the only examples of revenue growth found in the study.

Only the Bavarian giants (€5.9 million) and Real (€300,000) registered net profits in the 2019-20 season, unlike the 2018-19 campaign when all champions recorded profits.

PSG suffered the highest net loss at €125.8 million after Ligue 1 was the only top domestic European league, other than the Dutch Eredivisie and Belgium's Pro League, that ended its season in April amid the Covid-19 crisis.

REUTERS