Premier League leads European football at £ 25 billion

The five major European leagues generated a record turnover of 15.6 billion euros in 2017-2018, an annual increase of 6%, according to new figures released by Deloitte.

According to the report, the European football market now accounts for around 28.4 billion euros.

The English Premier League was the market leader, with record revenues of £ 4.8 billion, with five teams participating for the first time in the Champions League.

The German Bundesliga has overtaken the Spanish Liga to become the second largest league in the world generating revenue.

Deloitte said that during the 2017-18 season, European club football was in the "strongest financial situation we have ever seen".

"This reflects the desire of leading clubs to generate ever-increasing revenues to fund their success on the ground, as well as UEFA's sustained efforts to improve the profitability and sustainability of clubs through fair play. club licenses, "said Dan Jones, Partner and Club Manager. Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

"Competitive nature"

With a quintet of English teams contested in the Champions League in 2017-18 and all reaching round 16 or more, Uefa payments to clubs have increased to around 71 million pounds.

In parallel with the increase in European liquidity, revenues from games and matches also increased in the Premier League clubs – by 8% and 12% respectively.

However, after record operating profits in 2016-17, increased spending on player salaries contributed to the reduction in operating profits. They fell 16% to £ 867 million, still the second highest level of profitability so far.

"This salary expense is an indication of the competitive nature of the division, the best clubs competing for lucrative places in UEFA competitions and lower clubs in the division fighting to stay in the Premier League", said Mr. Jones.

"With the sale of the national and international Premier League rights being completed for the 2019-2020 to 2021-22 seasons, generating an overall 8% increase in revenue, Premier League clubs will receive further increases in central distributions in the coming seasons.

"However, the increase is not as significant as in the previous two cycles and the clubs will therefore aim to improve their competitiveness and financial situation by developing and increasing other commercial revenues."

He said that while the Premier League has maintained its leading position financially, other leagues would continue to grow in the years to come.

In the second-tier English league, record wage levels led to record operating losses.

Salaries exceeded revenues, highlighting the financial risks that the championship clubs are ready to take to get a Premier League promotion. However, the net debt of the championship clubs has almost halved during the season.

Tax contribution

The other results regarding the finances of English football in 2017-18 include:

• The top 92 Premier League and Football League clubs generated a record turnover of £ 5.8 billion
• Championship clubs generated record combined revenue of £ 749m, up 4% from 2016-17
• The 92 Premier League and Football League clubs contributed 2.1 billion pounds in taxes (2016-2017: 1.9 billion pounds)
• The salary / income ratio of Premier League clubs has increased to 59%
• Ratio salary / income of championship clubs increased to 106%

Scottish Broadcast Offers

At the same time, Scottish receipts reached £ 206 million in 2017-2018, thanks to 19% growth in match day revenues.

The Premiership recorded its highest average attendance since 2006-07, helped by Hibernian's return to the highest level.

Following the termination of the FBCL International Media Rights Agreement with the MP & Silva Broadcasting Agency, replacement contracts were signed. These agreements with beIN Sports and other broadcasters allowed the league to be available in 119 territories for two seasons, from 2018 to 1919.

In addition, Deloitte has stated that a five-year exclusive rights agreement with Sky Sports is expected to generate a 20% increase over the current contract for the 2020-21 season.

Outside the UK, the German Bundesliga has made new broadcasting arrangements and made the league leap forward, becoming the second largest market in terms of revenue generation.

The Bundesliga also remains the most popular European league, with an average crowd of more than 43,000 spectators.

Italian Serie A remains far from the German and Spanish leagues in terms of revenues, the French Ligue 1 remaining the smallest of the five major leagues.