ConclusionThe 2021-22 season saw European football emerge from its most challenging period to date, with aggregate revenues across the big five leagues increasing by 10%.The Premier League’s total revenue of £5.5bn was nearly double that of La Liga’s, with the return of fans to stadiums helping to drive record matchday and commercial revenues.However, wage costs across the big five leagues increased by 15%, causing a loss in operational profits.Deloitte’s Tim Bridge said European clubs needed to ensure their financial foundations were sound to remain competitive and relevant, while Championship clubs’ net debt of £1.7bn was described as “significant”.
European Football Revenues Reach Record Highs in 2021-22 Season
The 2021-22 season saw European football emerge from its most challenging period to date, with aggregate revenues across the big five leagues increasing by 10%. According to Deloitte’s annual financial report, the English top tier’s aggregate revenue of £5.5bn in 2021-22 was nearly double that of Spain’s La Liga. The return of crowds to stadiums after the Covid-19 pandemic helped to grow revenues by 10% across Europe.
Premier League Establishes Itself as Market Leader
Top-flight clubs in England reported a 12% rise in overall revenues during the 2021-22 season to a record aggregate revenue of 6.4bn euros (£5.5bn). Matchday revenue in the Premier League totalled £763m – a £732m increase from the 2020-21 season, when the football was played, for the most part, behind closed doors. Following the full re-opening of football stadiums in August 2021, the average attendance reached an all-time high of 39,950 across the course of the season, which helped to surpass pre-pandemic matchday revenue levels of £684m from the 2018-19 campaign.
Deloitte put the Premier League’s commercial revenue reaching a new high of £1.7bn down to fans’ renewed appetite for football after the pandemic. International interest was continuing to drive the Premier League’s revenue growth but wage costs – which covers playing and non-playing staff – increased by 6% to £192m, rising for a second year running.
Big Five League Comparisons
La Liga’s revenues, despite a total increase of 11% to 3.3bn euros (£2.8bn) in the 2021-22 season, remain half that of the Premier League. Again, the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions was the main reason behind the revenue increases seen across Europe, with Spanish top-tier clubs generating 409m euros (£349m) of matchday revenue, a 353m euro (£302m) increase from 2019-20.
Germany’s Bundesliga was disrupted mid-season when Covid measures were reintroduced for a period, but the league’s revenue increased by 5% to reach 3.1bn euros (£2.6bn). Meanwhile, Ligue 1 clubs in France experienced the greatest percentage growth in aggregate revenues – a 26% rise from 412m euros (£353m) to a record high of 2bn euros (£1.7bn). Italy’s Serie A was the only big-five league to record a fall in aggregate revenues, with total revenue decreasing by 7% to 2.4bn euros (£2.1bn) due to a fall in value of domestic and international broadcast deals.
Championship Clubs Net Debt ‘Significant’
The Championship, League One and League Two’s combined revenue was more than £1bn in the 2021-22 season. England’s second tier had an 13% increase in revenue to £676m, League One’s rose by 71% to £220m, while there was a 32% rise to £124m in League Two. Despite wage costs falling for a second consecutive year in 2021-22, wages in the Championship remain higher than the revenue earned with a wage-revenue ratio of 108%.
Championship clubs’ net debt in 2021-22 was £1.7bn, which Deloitte’s Tim Bridge called “significant” and said “long-term decisions” needed to be made to combat the “glamour of Premier League promotion” which drives Championship clubs to “overstretch financially”.
Conclusion
The 2021-22 season saw European football emerge from its most challenging period to date, with aggregate revenues across the big five leagues increasing by 10%. The Premier League’s total revenue of £5.5bn was nearly double that of La Liga’s, with the return of fans to stadiums helping to drive record matchday and commercial revenues. However, wage costs across the big five leagues increased by 15%, causing a loss in operational profits. Deloitte’s Tim Bridge said European clubs needed to ensure their financial foundations were sound to remain competitive and relevant, while Championship clubs’ net debt of £1.7bn was described as “significant”.