Clubs across the top divisions of European leagues have recorded an overall profit for the first time, "reversing years of losses" before the implementation of financial fair play rules, a UEFA analysis of the '17 financial year has revealed, according to David Conn of the London GUARDIAN. The unprecedented “bottom line” profit, a total of €615M ($700M) made by the 700 top-flight clubs in Europe’s 55 national leagues, represents a fundamental turnaround since '08-11, when clubs’ total losses amounted to more than €5B. UEFA introduced its FFP rules "in response to those losses." UEFA Intelligence Centre Analytics Head Sefton Perry said that the "excessive spending began to be staunched" after the introduction of FFP. Perry: "The health of European club football has improved dramatically since 2012, with losses declining every year and overall profitability being reported for the first time." UEFA’s latest “benchmarking” financial report also documented the "commercial dominance" of the Premier League compared with the other major leagues in Europe. The 20 clubs in England’s top division made total revenues of €5.3B in the '16-17 financial year, the most recent for which full information is available, "almost double that of the league with the next highest total revenues," La Liga, whose clubs made €2.9B. Bundesliga clubs made €2.8B during the same financial period, those in Serie A €2.1B, and Ligue 1 €1.6B, less than a third of Premier League clubs’ revenues (GUARDIAN, 1/17). In London, Adam Shergold reported a record 13 English clubs feature among Europe's 30 wealthiest, with ManU "topping the charts." despite "failing to make an impression" in the Champions League recently, ManU's projected revenue in its latest set of financial figures was around €676M. It places the club "narrowly ahead" of Real Madrid, which has won the last three Champions League titles, on €675M based on '17 data. Man City (fifth), Arsenal (seventh), Liverpool (eighth) and Chelsea (ninth) all feature in UEFA's top 10. The report states, "In the last 10 years, Premier League clubs have added €1.9B in TV revenues. This compares to the €1.9B added by all the rest of Europe's clubs combined" (DAILY MAIL, 1/18).
