Despite an almost complete loss of matchday revenue in the 2020/21 season, the European football market grew defiantly in revenue terms by 10% to €27.6 billion, boosted by the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament and deferred revenue from the postponed 2019/20 season, according to Deloitte’s “Annual Review of Football Finance” report. This indicates a significant recovery in revenue terms, with the bounce back to pre-Covid revenue levels projected to be achieved in the 2021/22 season.
In the aftermath of a record-breaking UEFA Women’s Euro and in anticipation of a landmark football season that will include the first ever winter FIFA World Cup and a break across all of the “big five” leagues, Deloitte’s 31st Annual “Review of Football Finance” assesses the financial performance of European clubs within the tumultuous 2020/21 season and charts the outlook for future growth.
● 30 YEARS OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE
As the Premier League celebrates 30 years since the start of its first ever season (1992/93), Deloitte has charted its success throughout, tracking remarkable growth in the financial scale and global appeal of the competition. In 2020/21, average revenue per Premier League club exceeded the collective 1992/93 total for the fourth time, with total revenue up over 2,400% at £4.9 billion. Entering its fourth decade, there is an optimistic outlook as Premier League clubs’ revenue is expected to exceed £6 billion in the 2022/23 season as a result of the new broadcast deals, the return to full stadia and improved commercial deals.
● PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS
Premier League clubs’ revenues increased by 8% to £4.9 billion in 2020/21 following the previous season’s drop, which was the first year-on-year fall in total revenue in the Premier League’s history. This increase is largely due to a £1 billion (43%) increase in broadcast revenue, owing to rebates and deferrals in the previous season. The impact of this on overall revenue, however, was diminished by the absence of fans for the majority of the season, which resulted in a loss of over £0.5 billion in matchday revenues.
With the return of full stadia, along with new broadcast deals and improved commercial deals, the outlook for future Premier League clubs’ revenues is optimistic, with overall revenue projected to surpass £6 billion in the 2022/23 season.
● EUROPE’S PREMIER LEAGUES
In 2020/21 the “big five” European leagues generated €15.6 billion in aggregate revenue, up 3% relative to the prior season, but significantly below revenues observed prior to Covid-19 (€17.0 billion in 2018/19). The theme of polarization has been ever present in European football and has been exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic. The Premier League today may be further ahead of the competition than ever before. Concerningly, when excluding the Premier League, the “big five” reported increased total operating losses during the year, increasing from €461 million to €901 million.
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