The Coronavirus pandemic has affected the finances of all the clubs. The earnings have taken a hit as fans are not still allowed inside the stadium completely.
Deloitte’s money league shows that the top 20 revenue-generating clubs lost around £975million during the 2019-20 season due to the lack of spectators and effect on broadcast income.
The virus’s ongoing effects see the drop in revenue projected to reach £1.75bn between the 20 clubs.
DELOITTE MONEY LEAGUE
10 – Juventus – £349m
9 – Tottenham – £390.9m
8 – Chelsea – £411.9m
7 – PSG – £474.1m
6 – Manchester City – £481.6m
5 – Liverpool – £489.9m
4 – Manchester United – £509m
3 – Bayern Munich – £556.1m
2 – Real Madrid – £627m
1 – Barcelona – £627.1m
Tim Bridge of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group said: “We usually release our money league and talk about the growth in revenue but of course football is not immune to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“The revenue that’s been missed out on is driven by the lack of fans in the stadium, the lack of interaction on a matchday – fans spending in the club shop and buying food and drink – and there is an element that relates to revenue that broadcasters have either clawed back (or deferred) to next year.”
“There is an element of the 19-20 season being played in the 20-21 financial year, so there’s a rollover of a certain element of revenue, but for this season the matchday revenue is the most significant hit for the clubs.”
“The commercial revenue has so far held up. I think many people were concerned that in the short term there would be an immediate shock from sponsors pulling out or unable to pay their bills but at the moment these biggest clubs have been able to hold up their commercial value.”
Bridge further added: “In Germany they managed to complete the season prior to the end of June so the vast majority of revenue was recognised within the correct financial year.”
“That has contributed but of course on-pitch Bayern Munich had a fantastic season, competing in the Champions League compared to Manchester United who were competing in the Europa League, so there would likely have been a closing of that gap anyway.”
“A club such as Liverpool, who’ve made a concerted effort to engage with fans using digital and social media channels – that may well have created new revenue-generating opportunities and may mean they’ve gained a competitive advantage.”
Bridge continued: “Matchday revenue for these biggest clubs is their smallest proportion whereas the further down the system you go, the bigger that proportion is.”
“The loss of fans is really felt most acutely by those clubs further down the system. That’s why the support packages that have been talked about are absolutely essential to the future of these clubs.”
