Premier League Clubs Loosen Grip On Football’s Moneyed Elite
The Money League, compiled by Deloitte, ranks football clubs in terms of revenues but not their profit and loss.
(Bloomberg) -- The Premier League loosened its grip on the biggest teams in football, after three teams from continental Europe replaced a trio of under-performing English teams in an annual ranking.
The Money League, compiled by Deloitte, ranks football clubs in terms of revenues but not their profit and loss. Eintracht Frankfurt, SCC Napoli and Olympique Marseille entered the top 20 at the expense of Leicester City, Leeds United — both relegated last season — and Everton FC.
At the top of the table, Spain’s Real Madrid knocked Manchester City off top spot, reporting revenue for a season of €826 million (£706 million), largely attributable to a strong retail performance, higher stadium attendance and the recovery of sponsorship income following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The top 20 clubs posted revenues of €10.5 billion over the 2022/23 season.
The drop in English clubs in the Deliotte league table follows a period after the pandemic where strong broadcasting revenue deals helped prop up balance sheets.
“In the past two seasons, we saw English clubs outperform their European counterparts in their Money League ranking due to higher levels of broadcast income at a time when other income streams, notably match day income, were heavily impacted,” said Kunal Sajdeh, manager in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
However, broadcasting revenues have since struggled to continue growing at a rapid pace. The Premier League in December sold four years of UK broadcast rights for £6.7 billion ($8.4 billion), a 4% increase from the previous cycle.
In the women’s game, FC Barcelona Femeni remained at the top in terms of revenue generation, reporting €13.4 million, 74% higher than the previous year. Arsenal ranked fifth, but had the highest matchday revenue among the top 15 clubs after hosting three matches at its main stadium, the Emirates. This year it plans to host six.
Average revenue of the top 15 women’s teams stands at €4.3 million, a 61% increase over the previous year.
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