Barcelona is again the richest team in the world, followed by Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, according to the Deloitte “Football League of Money” ranking
The top 20 of the best football teams in the world will miss over 2 billion euros in revenue by the end of the 2020/21 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This shows the 24th edition of the Deloitte Football League of Money annual report .
This year’s edition reflects the impact and reaction of the football clubs of the COVID-19 pandemic and profiles the financial results of the teams with the highest incomes in world football during the disrupted 2019/20 season.
There is no doubt that this is one of the most difficult moments of the test that the football industry has ever passed, according to Deloitte. The development of the pandemic, the uncertain return of stadium fans, the different approaches of television and commercial partners and the related recognition of revenues are just some of the factors that have influenced the football business.
According to the report, the 20 best club teams for this year will miss more than 2 billion euros in revenue by the end of the 2020/21 season, including losses from the 2019/20 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deloitte estimates that these results are due to the lack of revenue from team matches, which is almost zero since March 2020. The forecast is that the fans will probably not be able to return to the stadiums in the 2020/21 season.
Discounts for the Big Five and UEFA leagues currently amount to almost 1.2 billion euros, most of which are borne by the clubs themselves.
No football team is immune to the challenges of COVID-19, and while other clubs around the world are more affected in relative terms, those participating in the Football League of Money rankings suffer the greatest financial impact in absolute terms. , show calculations by Deloitte consultants.
As for the financial year ending in 2020, the 20 football clubs with the highest revenues have 8.2 billion euros in combined revenue, down 12% from the previous year (9.3 billion euros). ).
This decrease of EUR 1.1 billion is explained by a decrease in broadcasting revenues by EUR 937 million (23%) mainly due to the postponement of broadcasts for the financial year ending in 2021, as well as the already made concessions for television broadcasters. operators related to violations 2019/20 season;
There is also a decrease of EUR 257 million (17%) in match revenues, which had to be postponed, canceled or resumed, but behind closed doors.
Compensation from an increase in trade revenues by 105 million euros (3%) also contributed to the decline, reflecting the start of several major trade agreements in clubs in 2019/20.
Deloitte’s analysis shows that the Top 20 clubs generate an average of 409 million euros, which is a decrease of 55 million euros compared to 2018/19 (464 million euros per club).
Six countries are represented in the top 20 of the most profitable clubs in the world. Barcelona (715.1 million euros) continues to hold the top spot in the rankings, displacing Real Madrid (2nd place) and Bayern Munich (3rd place), despite the registered decline in revenue by 15% compared to 2019.
Despite the pandemic, Barcelona continues to benefit from the strength of its brand thanks to its new digital and commercial strategy, which includes the launch of a new streaming platform – Barça TV +, in June 2020, which aims to improve fan engagement. Barcelona is also the first sports club to gain over 10 million subscribers to its YouTube channel.
Real Madrid (714.9 million euros) again ranks second in the rankings. Not surprisingly, match revenues were most affected – a decline of 36.6 million euros (25%) to 108.2 million euros, and broadcast revenues also fell by 33.9 million euros compared to 2019 (13%) to 224 million euros. However, there is an increase in the team’s sales revenue, which increased by EUR 28.1 million (8%) to EUR 382.7 million.