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Football’s elite clubs in Deloitte’s annual money league report raked in a combined €9.3 billion (R149.3 billion) in revenue during the 2018/19 season.
All the 20 sides are from Europe’s top five leagues – Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), Ligue 1 (France) and Serie A (Italy).
La Liga powerhouse Barcelona topped the list for the first time in 23 editions, becoming the first team to break the €800 million mark, toppling perennial giants and eternal rivals Real Madrid, who have not fallen below third place so far.
Of the total revenue percentage, clubs in the top 20 earned 44% of revenue from broadcast deals, while commercial revenue remained at 40% and match-day income dropped slightly to 16% from 17% last season.
Lyon (€220.8 million) and Napoli (€207.4 million) made the top 20 list at the expense of AC Milan and Newcastle United, while Tottenham Hotspur (€521.1 million) became London’s highest-earning club due to its miracle run in the Uefa Champions League.
Unfortunately, Spurs still brought in less than Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.
The report noted that, with Uefa’s new rights revenue distribution cycle, the financial impact “appears more notable than ever and with a strong overall correlation between money league ranking and on-pitch performance”.
This is evidenced by Arsenal, who, for the past three seasons, have not featured in Europe’s money league, thus dropping from sixth in 2016/17 to ninth in 2017/18, and 11th in 2018/19. Deloitte said the Gunners were unlikely to make the top 10 again unless the London-based club’s commercial and match-day revenue could improve through innovative methods.
Manchester United are also at risk of losing their global financial dominance, according to the audit. The Red Devils have been the highest-ranked Premier League club on the list since the team’s inception, but their failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League and terrible on-field performances domestically will affect their rating.
Deloitte expects the Ole Gunnar Solskjær-coached outfit to drop further down next year, especially because some of its commercial deals hinge on the team qualifying for the Champions League.
Despite overall broadcast revenue increasing 16% from the previous season, the report noted that the top clubs were far less reliant on that form of income, with the top five sides generating 49% of their revenue from commercial interests. This is compared with clubs in the bottom five of the top 20, whose primary source of income (65%) was from broadcast deals.
Another boon for football clubs is that “individual clubs have been able to increase revenue at multiples of their respective countries’ gross domestic product growth, while remaining seemingly immune to wider market conditions”, the report noted.
The Premier League’s latest deal, which was signed last year, is reportedly worth €1.9 billion a season, while the other top three leagues are worth just more than €1 billion each per season. Only the Italian league is worth about €973 million.
But the clubs that will do well in future depend on the strength of their commercial and match-day deals, which they have full control over.
“We therefore believe it will be those clubs that think and act most creatively and expansively to realise the full value of their fan base that will improve their placing in the money league,” Deloitte remarked.
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