A new study reveals that Brazil's top football clubs reported a 29.7% increase in total revenue as they "gained a greater share of income" from TV rights, according to Joe Leahy of the FINANCIAL TIMES. A study by investment bank Itaù revealed the country’s top clubs earned total revenues of R$1.93B in the '11 season. This "sudden increase in wealth" is allowing Brazilian clubs to "persuade more top talent to stay at home and to draw some players back from overseas." Itaù Credit Manager César Grafietti said, “The clubs with more money are investing more in their players and this is proving attractive for more players who would previously have been directed to Europe or the Middle East.” The explosion in football revenues in the country comes as "a rising middle class produces rapid growth in telecoms, media and the entertainment industries." The top-earning Brazilian football club last season was Brasileiro club Corinthians, which booked total revenue of R$281M in '11, up 36% from a year earlier. Next were Brasileiro clubs São Paulo, with R$225M, up 15%, and Santos, with R$189M, up 62%. In a separate report, Deloitte said that while Brazilian clubs were "still not earning at the level of the big leagues in Europe and the U.K.," the country’s domestic growth and plans to host the 2014 World Cup "could boost earnings further" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/1).
