Champions: our side of the table is worth 2.4 billion, the other 10.6

The balls of the draw played a good joke. On one side the big favourites, on the other the surprises. On the one hand the elite of European football, on the other the outsiders (although the brands of Inter and Milan still have their charm in the world). The fact is that an evident economic disproportion has been created: from now on, until the final, it is as if two Champions League were being played.

On one side of the board, with Real Madrid, Bayern, Manchester City and Chelsea, 10.6 billion euros are on the field. On the other, with Inter, Milan, Naples and Benfica, “only” 2.4. An enormity, if you look at the so-called “enterprise value”, the company value calculated through a series of algorithms by Football Benchmark (the data refer to the latest research, published in 2022). But any economic indicator would offer a picture of a competition split in two.

Firepower

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Let’s take salaries, based on last season’s club balance sheets. The Champions League favorites combine a “firepower” of 1.6 billion, i.e. a billion more than the other four. These are the effects of the polarization of European football, fueled in recent decades by a series of factors inside and outside the sector. There is no doubt that globalization has played its part: only a few brands have been able to exploit the popularity of football and the growth of its business internationally. But it is equally true that UEFA fair play and the mechanism for accessing Champions League resources have widened the gap. This draw is a sort of nemesis of the movement’s economic imbalances, with a caveat for dreamers: the current plastered system always makes sporting miracles possible but minimizes the chances that a medium-small or medium-large club can structurally move up a category, in industrial terms. On the other hand, just look at the dimensions that the reference football companies have reached.

Real Madrid has exceeded the 3 billion valuation by the Football Benchmark (3184 million the latest estimate), while the table mates are well above the 2 billion mark: Chelsea 2179 million, City 2483, Bayern 2749. The enterprise value , just to be clear, is calculated in this case using the turnover multiples model and correcting the multiplier through five parameters: profitability, popularity, sporting potential, TV rights management and any owned stadiums. Watch out, these are theoretical evaluations. The market price is something else: Chelsea, for example, was bought last year by the Americans for 2.9 billion (plus the commitment to invest another 2.1). The Italians are clearly behind: last year Inter were worth 996 million according to Football Benchmark, Milan 578, Napoli 483 (the Rossoneri and Azzurri are clearly growing this year). Benfica’s valuation is even lower: 326 million. The gap is clearly reflected in the income statement, both in revenues and in costs. Take a look at the 2021-22 personnel expenses out of the eight: Real Madrid 519 million, Manchester City 418, Bayern 349, Chelsea 349 (2020-21), Inter Milan 248, Milan 170, Napoli 130, Benfica 113. Among our , the data of Milan and Naples are particularly striking, capable of making the most of it with a very limited wage bill. This year, then, De Laurentiis has further cut his salaries: for the second season in a row, after Milan, the Scudetto will be won by the team that is not even on the podium of shopping for the squad. David beating Goliath.