With more than half of Europe's top earnings being English football clubs, Manchester City took the top spot for a second consecutive year.
With more than half of Europe's top earnings being English football clubs, including Manchester City, who took the top spot for a second consecutive year, English football clubs solidified their position as the sport's wealth creators.
According to Deloitte's annual Money League, the Premier League champion's revenue, which was buoyed by a strong increase in commercial income, was 13% more than the previous year at €731 million ($794 million). At €714, Real Madrid came in second. The only other teams from countries other than England in the top 10 were Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich.
As clubs recovered from the devastating consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, the report this year emphasises exactly how much English football has been dominating for years. Instead of considering teams' profitability, Deloitte rates them based on the revenue they generate.
Liverpool climbed up four spots to third, its highest-ever position, and its American owners are considering selling the franchise. For the first time, it passed Manchester United, a rival in the northwest whose owners are also considering a sale. Liverpool's earnings increased as a result of their trip to the Champions League Final.
With 16 English clubs in the top 30, London club Arsenal replaced Juventus of Italy in the top 10. It's now possible for all 20 Premier League teams to be placed among the top 30, as per Deloitte.
The rivalries between English clubs are becoming more intense as a result of their dominance. The teams distort the market because they are supported by their owners and are permitted to sign players even when they are losing money, as said by Javier Tebas, head of La Liga in Spain, who made this statement last week at a gathering in Brussels.
According to Tebas, Spanish football is years behind the Premier League. "In four to six years, we could catch up in terms of structure and stadia," the author predicted.
Tebas is making an effort to narrow the gap, in part by a €2 billion agreement reached in 2021 with private equity company CVC Capital Partners. The majority of the money will go into building new or renovated stadiums as well as expanding the digital industry.
Following Deloitte's most recent Annual Review of Football Finance, released in August, the Premier League's total revenue increased by 8% to €5.5 billion in 2020/21, a year marred by Covid. Just over half of that amount, or €2.95 billion, was earned by the Spanish league.
Like his rivals, Tebas is hopeful that the expansion of direct-to-consumer broadcasting would increase the popularity of the Spanish league on a global scale. Its LaLiga Pass programme, which was modelled after the NBA, debuted in Indonesia and Thailand last year and will next come to India and Turkey, said Tebas.
However, the Premier League just has more money to spend. A third of LaLiga's entire transfer budget was spent by Nottingham Forest, who are presently 13th in the standings, who spent around $150 million (£122m) on acquisitions throughout the summer.
Deloitte estimated that only 16% of the clubs' boards in the Money League were ethnically diverse. Eight clubs reported having a board that is not ethnically diverse, and three clubs withheld information.
(Bloomberg.com)
