EPL dominates rivals in revenue

BINH DUONG

Premier League (EPL) clubs' revenue in the 2021-2022 season is double that of Spain's La Liga and three times that of France's Ligue 1. It is the first season in which European stadiums are open to fans after the COVID-19 pandemic.

EPL is currently the richest league in Europe. Photo: AFP

According to the recently released annual football financial report by Deloitte, the top five European leagues, including EPL, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga (Germany) and Serie A (Italy), had a total revenue of 17.2 billion Euros in the 2021-2022 season, up 10%. Of which, EPL increased by 12% to a record 6.4 billion Euros, La Liga increased by 11% to 3.3 billion Euros and Ligue 1 increased by 26% to 2 billion Euros. Serie A was the only league in the report with a decline in revenue, down 7% to 2.4 billion Euros.

"The figures show that European football has emerged strongly from the most challenging period. After the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, pent-up fan demand has driven commercial and matchday revenues to record levels across Europe," said Tim Bridge, head of Deloitte's Sports Business Group. In specific categories, EPL matchday revenue for the 2021-22 season has increased to €890 million, far exceeding the 2020-21 season, which was largely played behind closed doors, and also improving on the €684 million of the pre-pandemic 2018-19 season. In 2018-19, the combined revenue of these five leagues reached €17 billion.

Despite the increase in revenue, operating profit across the five leagues has fallen by €1.8bn since 2018-19, partly due to a 15% increase in wage costs (to €12.3bn in 2021-22). This is a warning to clubs to adjust their wage costs in the future to comply with UEFA's new "sustainability regulations" on spending limits, which will be adopted in 2022. Between 2022 and 2025, clubs will be limited to spending no more than 90% of their revenue on their squad, with 70% after that.

According to Mr Bridge, the record growth in the EPL continues to increase the polarisation of revenues between and within European football leagues and every league will face new challenges due to increased competition, regulation and the stress of a challenging macroeconomic environment. The expert warned of a growing threat from “emerging leagues”.

Striker Karim Benzema moved to the wealthy Saudi Arabian Premier League (SPL) last week, following in the footsteps of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. A host of big names from European football have also been linked with clubs in the Gulf state, including Sergio Ramos and N'Golo Kante. Ronaldo said earlier this month that the SPL could become one of the world's top five leagues within the next five years and would improve if more stars arrived.

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