With European football still warming up, this is the right time to reflect on the business and financial trends of the top five European leagues in the 2020-21 season and what the future holds for them. The table below shows how Europe’s top leagues stack up against each other in terms of finances. The season of European football was taken into account.
The European football season starts in 2020. The English Football League, the French Football League, the German Football League, the Italian Football League and the Spanish Football League all started on August 6. After a week, the football started to roll in the other teams.
It is still early days, but the first two weeks of action in the top three European leagues have followed a familiar pattern. Both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have won their first two games and are at the top of the league. AC Milan and Real Madrid won their season opener last year.
A lot can still happen in the following nine months, considering that this European football season would be unlike anything seen before. The football leagues across Europe will come to a halt due to the fact that some players will be heading to the World Cup in Qatar.
This is a good time to reflect on the business and financial trends of the top five European leagues in the 2020/21 season and what the future holds for them.
Europe’s top leagues are compared against each other in terms of finances in the Annual Review of Football Finance 2022.
The 2020/21 season of European football was taken into account. The business of the football leagues are two key points to be noted.
There was a complete absence of fans from the stadiums during the 2020-21 season of European football as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and government restrictions.
The 2020/21 European financial year and the 2019/20 season of European football both overlap. The business done by the league in the 2019/20 season which coincides with the European financial year has also been taken into account.
Despite the absence of fans for a majority of the 2020/21 season, the European football market grew in revenue terms. The market grew by a tenth. The boost came because of the Euro 2020, which was held in the summer of 2021, in the major European cities.
Key findings from the Annual Review of Football Finance are as follows:
The ‘Big Five’ dominated the European football market.
The influence of the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 on the European football market continues to increase. Their contribution to the European football market far outweighs the contribution of other top leagues, FIFA, UEFA and national associations put together. The pandemic saw the contribution of the ‘big five’ dip in 2019/20 before picking up in 2020/21.
The Annual Review of Football Finance is published annually by Deloitte.
The ‘Big Five’ had increased operating losses.
The ‘big five’ European leagues recorded a revenue of 15.6 billion in 2020-21, an increase of 3 percent from the previous year. The ‘big five’ reported increased operating losses in the year even though they didn’t include the league.
The revenue of the ‘Big Five’ European Leagues is explained in the figure below.
Image: Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance 2022 Reports
There is a fight for the second place in the Bundesliga.
England’s premier league is number one on the financial scale, but Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga are competing for the second spot. The revenue from the ‘big five’ European league clubs was plotted on a graph, and it followed a similar path.
Image: Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance 2022 ReportsCheck: Richest football clubs of 2022
The clubs in the Serie A have seen the greatest percentage growth.
Image: AP
The aggregate revenues of Serie A clubs increased by 23% to a record high of 2.5 billion. It was the only league that reported more revenue in the year. The growth was primarily due to broadcast revenue.
The revenue of the Ligue 1 clubs is falling.
Image: FootballFactly Twitter
The Ligue 1 clubs’ revenues fell further behind the nearest rival in 2020-21, as the divide between the two leagues doubled. The revenue increase for the 2019/20 season was just 1 percent, and the clubs failed to achieve significant growth in 2020. It was the 14th consecutive year of combined losses for the Ligue 1 clubs, as each club recorded an operating loss for the season, with total losses more than doubling in the last two disrupted seasons.
The outlook for the ‘big five’ is brighter.
There is a sense of optimism for the ‘big five’ as with COVID-19 restrictions no longer in place, the fans have filled the stadiums. According to the Annual Review of Football Finance 2022, the ‘big five’ leagues will generate a record level of 18.6 billion in aggregate revenue in the upcoming season of European football.
The report has two other key points mentioned.
It’s 1. The premier league will likely remain the leading football league as it enters its fourth decade
There are 2 things. European football is emerging from one of its most challenging periods in history as live, unscripted drama has drawn fans back to stadia.
The work was done by Abhishek Jha
