ManU has dropped a place to third in the Deloitte rich list behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, but Deloitte indicated the club "could claim" the No. 1 position next year for the first time in more than a decade, according to Jamie Jackson of the London GUARDIAN. ManU's revenue of €520M ($565.4M) for '14-15 "broke the half a billion euro barrier for a second consecutive season." A record nine Premier League clubs are placed in the top 20, generating €3B ($3.26B) between them, with West Ham United a new entry. Real Madrid is No. 1 "for an 11th straight year," its €577M ($628M) beating Barcelona’s €561M ($610M). Paris St. Germain is in fourth on €481M ($523M), the French club leapfrogging Bayern Munich, which is fifth on €474M ($516M). Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool occupy the next four places. Newcastle United climbed two places to 17th, overtaking Inter Milan in the process, "despite their poor form." Deloitte’s Tim Bridge said, "The fact Manchester United remain in the top three of the money league demonstrates the underlying strength of the club’s business model. The return to Champions League football [this season], as well as the commencement of a number of significant commercial partnerships, will only strengthen the business in 2015-16" (GUARDIAN, 1/20). The BBC reported with the Milan clubs slipping and French teams -- other than PSG -- "disappearing from the top 30 completely, it is clear that the hierarchy of European football is changing." The Premier League's dominance "only looks set to grow," given the £5.14B ($7.3B) three-year broadcasting deal that takes effect from '16-17. In Italy, Serie A clubs have a "specific revenue-generating problem, according to Deloitte, because their stadiums are not suitable for the kind of corporate facilities that generate huge sums" (BBC, 1/21).
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| Source: Deloitte |
THE FORMULA: CNBC's Saheli Roy Choudhury reported the Football Money League "is calculated by taking into account the various revenue streams" clubs have, including match-day ticket sales, broadcasting rights, participation bonuses from various club competitions, as well as sponsorship and merchandising. Last season "the ratio of the three principal revenue streams for clubs remained consistent with previous years," as 41% of revenue came from commercial avenues, 40% from broadcast, and 19% from match-day sources (
CNBC, 1/20).
LUCRATIVE MATCHDAYS: In London, Mark Critchley reported Arsenal generates "more money on matchdays than any other club in the world, including the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona." Based on '14-15 revenues, the club’s 61,000-seater Emirates Stadium brought in £100.4M ($143M) last season, which trumps the £98.8M ($140.7M) made from matches at the Santiago Bernabeu and Barça’s figure of £88.9M ($126.6M). The Gunners "also played fewer home games last season than in the year before" but, thanks to having the Premier League’s most expensive ticket prices, "their matchday takings increased slightly" (INDEPENDENT, 1/21). MARKETING MAGAZINE’s Matthew Chapman reported although Chelsea won the Premier league last season “it was usurped in Deloitte’s Money League by Arsenal, proving the growing influence of sponsorship revenues." Arsenal overtook Chelsea in seventh place as it “benefited from the first year of its new kit sponsorship deal with Puma,” helping it increase commercial revenue growth by 34%. West Ham “was the only new entrant into the top 20 this year.” The financial threshold for membership of the Money League is “spiralling ever higher.” The requirement for a place in the top 20 increased to €160.9M ($175.2M), a 12% increase from the previous year (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 1/21).
