European football gained momentum after the coronavirus pandemic and this was seen in the income of the 2022-2023 season in the five major leagues (Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1). According to the study “The finances of the five major European football leagues in 2022-2023”, presented this Wednesday at the Col·legi d’Economistes, income rose by 14% compared to the previous season – from 17,200 to 19,500 million euros. Those that noticed it the most were the 20 European clubs with the most turnover, which together increased by almost 17%. The data has been extracted from Deloitte.
If you broaden the focus and look at the details of each of these leagues, the Premier League continues to firmly hold first place. The English championship brought in 6,967 million euros. The novelty is in the second position: after several years in which they were practically tied, the Bundesliga (3,835 million) made the ‘surprise’ of LaLiga (3,535 million). It was key that the turnover of the former grew by 22%, while that of the latter somewhat less (8%). In the opinion of Josep Sanfeliu and Martí Garcia Pons – who presented the report – the forecasts indicate that the German league will consolidate ahead of the Spanish one.
The Premier’s gap in relation to the other four major leagues is striking, since it practically doubles their income. So much so that the forecast is that the difference will increase: the English league is expected to bill 7,477 million euros this season, while the Spanish league would remain at 3,800. On the other hand, in the 2017-2018 season, the difference between the two was 2.2 billion.
Another element that stands out from this analysis is that the 20 teams that generate the most in Europe concentrate more than 50% of the income of the 118 clubs that make up these five leagues. Specifically, they add up to 10,800 million of the 19,500 total. Sanfeliu wanted to emphasize the fact that there are seven English clubs among this ‘top 20’ and not all of them compete in European competitions. However, there are five Germans, three Spaniards, four Italians and one Frenchman.
The 20 European teams with the most income concentrate 55% of what is generated in the five major leagues
Among the Spanish, Real Madrid was the one that earned the most (831.2 million euros). The white club was also the European entity that made the most turnover, followed by Manchester City (825.5 million) and Barça (807.7). Atlético occupies thirteenth position with 421.2 million.
At the same time, regarding income, they have highlighted that the item that increasingly has a more predominant weight in the clubs’ economies is the one that has to do with the commercial aspect and merchandising. Currently it is already close to 50% of total revenues (46%), while television rights – previously predominant – drop to 38% and everything related to television also rises to 16%. matchday (match tickets). This trend is more pronounced in the teams with the most revenue, while from the ‘top 10’ onwards they continue to have television rights as their main means of income.
The report also focuses on the operating results and the debt accumulated in these leagues. In this sense, both Josep Sanfeliu and Martí Garcia Pons have pointed out that the situation is “worrying” because there is “excessive debt.” In the case of the Premier, 81% of the 14,661 million euros that make up its total assets are financed by third parties, so its net worth only represents 19%. In the case of Series A, the debt is even higher (91%). The Bundesliga is the one with the most stable situation, in which 40% of the assets represent its capital and own funds. As for LaLiga, it exceeds the total assets of the German league (8,876 million compared to 4,040), but the debt represents 87%.
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