Football and money are like Siamese twins; one cannot be separated from the other. With shrewd management and optimal supply of funds, growth, and expansion are sureties.
There has been much fuss about how much elite football clubs have expended in recent decades to build and set up strong and formidable squads. Premier League giants and European conquerors Manchester City are always at the heart of the discussion of the role of money in football.
Notably, the conversation on football financing has been largely shaped through the prism of Financial and Fair Play Rules, beaming searchlights on the club's spending; the revenue base has not been talked about enough.
Football clubs are money-making ventures just like every business. From television rights, match tickets, player sales, partnership and endorsement deals, match and tournament bonuses, clubs run various income streams to pay players, managers, and coaching staff, and maintain facilities.
According to reports, Manchester City have been topping the chart of clubs with the highest revenue inflow each season. Now, a report published by Deloitte has revealed City have been undone by Real Madrid on the ladder.
As per the analysis, Deloitte revealed Real Madrid boasted a surge in revenue up to €831milllion in the 2022-23 season, €5million better than Manchester City, who recorded €826m.
Real Madrid's heavy revenue inflow comes despite their Champions League deadlock last season. The elite club competition in Europe is understood to be a major revenue base for all participating clubs. Los Blancos lost the Champions League semifinal to Manchester City last season, cutting short their potential maximum return from the competition.
Ligue 1 giants PSG are third on the chart with a revenue inflow of €802million followed by Barcelona (€800million), and Manchester United (€746million).
Premier League clubs dominate the top 10 highest earners
Going down the chart, Premier League clubs dominate with higher revenue inflow than clubs from other leagues. Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Arsenal, - the Premier League big six - are 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th on the chart respectively with revenues ranging from €593million for Liverpool to €463million for Arsenal. Tottenham and Chelsea boast of €549million and €512million, respectively.
Bayern Munich is the only German club in the top 10 with a revenue of €637million.
Major revenue streams for football clubs
Commercial revenues and matchday revenues, including broadcast revenue have been identified as the main sources of football clubs' revenue. Commercial revenues for clubs reportedly totalled €4.4bn while matchday revenues amounted to €1.9bn. Broadcast revenues rose to €4.2bn.
As per the report, it was the first time commercial revenue overtook broadcast revenue as the main revenue base for clubs since 2015-16.
The sudden change has been attributed to the income generation revolution by clubs that has emphasized non-football activities like organization of concerts, retailing of the club's merchandise, and prioritization of sponsorship deals.
The future of Football club financing
There are projections that football clubs are diversify their income generation streams by shifting more to non-football activities away from broadcast revenues. While there are good prospects for a constant income flow with the growing acceptance of the sport by fringe nations, the challenge remains to maintain a sustainable financial future where spending on coaching, playing, and auxiliary staff is balanced with steady growth in sporting and footballing fortunes
There has been much fuss about how much elite football clubs have expended in recent decades to build and set up strong and formidable squads. Premier League giants and European conquerors Manchester City are always at the heart of the discussion of the role of money in football.
Notably, the conversation on football financing has been largely shaped through the prism of Financial and Fair Play Rules, beaming searchlights on the club's spending; the revenue base has not been talked about enough.
Football clubs are money-making ventures just like every business. From television rights, match tickets, player sales, partnership and endorsement deals, match and tournament bonuses, clubs run various income streams to pay players, managers, and coaching staff, and maintain facilities.
According to reports, Manchester City have been topping the chart of clubs with the highest revenue inflow each season. Now, a report published by Deloitte has revealed City have been undone by Real Madrid on the ladder.
As per the analysis, Deloitte revealed Real Madrid boasted a surge in revenue up to €831milllion in the 2022-23 season, €5million better than Manchester City, who recorded €826m.
Real Madrid's heavy revenue inflow comes despite their Champions League deadlock last season. The elite club competition in Europe is understood to be a major revenue base for all participating clubs. Los Blancos lost the Champions League semifinal to Manchester City last season, cutting short their potential maximum return from the competition.
Ligue 1 giants PSG are third on the chart with a revenue inflow of €802million followed by Barcelona (€800million), and Manchester United (€746million).
Premier League clubs dominate the top 10 highest earners
Going down the chart, Premier League clubs dominate with higher revenue inflow than clubs from other leagues. Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Arsenal, - the Premier League big six - are 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th on the chart respectively with revenues ranging from €593million for Liverpool to €463million for Arsenal. Tottenham and Chelsea boast of €549million and €512million, respectively.
Bayern Munich is the only German club in the top 10 with a revenue of €637million.
Major revenue streams for football clubs
Commercial revenues and matchday revenues, including broadcast revenue have been identified as the main sources of football clubs' revenue. Commercial revenues for clubs reportedly totalled €4.4bn while matchday revenues amounted to €1.9bn. Broadcast revenues rose to €4.2bn.
As per the report, it was the first time commercial revenue overtook broadcast revenue as the main revenue base for clubs since 2015-16.
The sudden change has been attributed to the income generation revolution by clubs that has emphasized non-football activities like organization of concerts, retailing of the club's merchandise, and prioritization of sponsorship deals.
The future of Football club financing
There are projections that football clubs are diversify their income generation streams by shifting more to non-football activities away from broadcast revenues. While there are good prospects for a constant income flow with the growing acceptance of the sport by fringe nations, the challenge remains to maintain a sustainable financial future where spending on coaching, playing, and auxiliary staff is balanced with steady growth in sporting and footballing fortunes
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