Europe’s elite raises record
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Real Madrid has entered a new sales dimension. The Spanish record champions and Champions League winners were the first European club to earn over one billion euros in the 2023/24 season – 200 million euros more than second-placed Manchester City. This comes from the 28th edition of the report “Football Money League“, which was published by the auditing and consulting firm Deloitte in London.
With their turnover of 1.045 billion euros (previous season: 831 million euros), the Royals were one of the main drivers behind the fact that the top 20 in Europe achieved a record total turnover, as in the previous year. Accordingly, total revenue in the 2023/24 season rose by six percent compared to the previous season (10.5 billion euros) to 11.2 billion euros. Transfer proceeds are not taken into account in the calculation. The clubs have finally left the economic consequences of the Corona crisis behind them.
The study cited two reasons for the increases. “The top clubs were able to increase their matchday revenue by expanding the capacity of their stadiums or introducing premium offers on matchday,” explained Stefan Ludwig, head of Deloitte’s German sports business group. “Commercial income grew, for example, through the organization of external events in the stadium.” Clubs would recognize that they could “market their assets in a variety of ways and be more than just a sports brand.”
The match day revenue of the top 20 clubs in terms of sales climbed by eleven percent to 2.1 billion euros, and commercial revenue by ten percent to 4.9 billion euros. Commercial revenue remained the largest source of income for the second year in a row. However, there was no increase in income from broadcasting rights, which amounted to 4.3 billion euros.
Only FC Bayern and BVB are in the top 20 in terms of sales
Thanks to their sporting achievements in the premier class, Real’s final opponents Borussia Dortmund were also able to make significant gains. BVB increased its income by 22 percent to 513.7 million euros. The Black and Yellows, in eleventh place, moved up one place, as did FC Bayern in fifth. The Munich team overtook FC Barcelona (760.3 million euros) with an increase of three percent to 765.4 million euros.
In the ranking of the 20 clubs with the highest turnover, these are the only Bundesliga clubs, as Eintracht Frankfurt, which was in 16th place last year, slipped to 24th place after missing out on the Champions League. Eintracht’s sales fell by 17 percent to 245.2 million euros. Juventus Turin lost the most places. The Bianconeri, who missed the European Cup, fell from eleventh to 16th place with a loss of 18 percent to 355.7 million euros – the worst ranking ever in a “Football Money League” report.