12/1/2017
European football clubs net profit increase of €1.5bn
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UEFA European championship
European football clubs net profit increase of €1.5bn
Uefa says new financial rules ‘provided the framework for unprecedented growth’
Only two clubs — Spain’s FC Barcelona (pictured above playing Manchester City in November) and Real Madrid — earn
more in broadcast revenues than the top eight English teams © Getty
57 MINUTES AGO
by: Murad Ahmed
European football clubs have increased profits by €1.5bn over the past two seasons, after
sustaining years of heavy losses, as so­called financial fair play rules (http://next.ft.com/
content/e7259964­008b­11e5­b91e­00144feabdc0) kicked in.
Uefa, European football’s governing body, released its annual “benchmark” report on
Thursday on the financial health of the sport. The study says revenues at Europe’s clubs
have risen consistently over the past two decades, while the English Premier League’s
financial dominance over its continental peers has continued to grow.
Interest in the game, particularly in the top five leagues in England, Spain, Germany,
Italy and France, has spurred ever­larger contracts with broadcasters and sponsors, and
higher gate receipts in stadiums. But heavy spending, such as on player transfers and
staff costs, had led to consistent losses at European clubs.
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European football clubs net profit increase of €1.5bn
The data show that Europe’s clubs have begun to swing into significant profits since FFP
rules, which places curbs on how much teams can spend as a proportion of income,
began to be implemented in 2011. In that year, aggregate operating losses for clubs were
€382m, compared with a profit of €727m in 2015, the latest year for which figures have
been made available.
Aleksander Ceferin, Uefa president, said the FFP rules “not only steadied the ship of
European finance, but also provided the framework for unprecedented growth,
investment and profitability”.
The figures are skewed by the effect of the rise of the Premier League, which outstrips
clubs in rival European leagues in terms of profitability, revenues, transfer spending and
the value of squads.
The average annual revenues of clubs in England’s top division is €4.4bn — €2bn more
than Germany’s Bundesliga, which is the next closest league. Premier League clubs have
been boosted by a £5.1bn domestic broadcasting deal (http://next.ft.com/content/0fc3b
c54­b152­11e4­a830­00144feab7de) with Sky and BT Sport for the next three seasons, an
increase of £600m compared with the previous contract.
Only two clubs — Spain’s FC Barcelona and Real Madrid — earn more in broadcast
revenues than the top eight English teams, as La Liga (http://next.ft.com/content/136b0
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European football clubs net profit increase of €1.5bn
9ce­7506­11e6­bf48­b372cdb1043a)distributes money from television rights deals less
evenly than the Premier League.
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Telefónica paid €600m for the domestic rights to broadcast matches of all Spanish
league teams last season, while Mediapro renewed its international broadcasting deal
with 38 clubs in Spain in a €400m deal for the 2016­17 season. Past analysis shows that
Barcelona is set to make €150m in broadcasting revenues this season — more than €50m
more than Atlético de Madrid, the third­highest­earning club in La Liga.
Uefa’s figures suggest that the two leading Spanish clubs remain the highest­earning in
Europe, able to afford larger player wage bills than Manchester United, the Premier
League’s richest club in terms of revenues.
But broader disparities in broadcast and commercial revenues across Europe has
allowed English teams to pay players record sums at €2.69bn. The average wage bill of
Premier League clubs is more than double that of the next highest paying league, Italy’s
Serie A.
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Uefa also estimates that the “market value” of players in the English Premier League is
the highest in Europe, worth roughly €4.4bn. This is despite La Liga’s top clubs owning
players who are widely considered the world’s best, such as FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi
and Luis Suárez, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale and Atlético de
Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann. According to Uefa, La Liga’s playing talent is worth
€3.25bn in total, while Italy’s Serie A is the next highest at €2.58bn.
The Premier League is also the best­attended league in Europe, with an aggregate
attendance in the 2015­16 season of 13,885,180. But Germany’s Bundesliga has the
highest average attendance in Europe, with 43,300 matchgoers.
Asia, in particular China, has become the largest source of foreign investment into
European clubs — 17 clubs are under majority foreign ownership by Asian investors.
Chinese groups and individuals have taken over nine clubs in the past two seasons,
including ADO Den Haag in The Netherlands, Inter Milan in Italy and Aston Villa in
England.
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distribute to others. © The Financial Times Ltd.
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