UEFA, record revenues of over 30 billion for clubs in 2025, but losses soar to 1.1 billion

Data from governing body UEFA, released at the FT Business of Football Summit, shows an increase in overall revenues compared to the €28.6 billion of the previous season, thanks to increased revenues from sponsorships, player transfers and prize money while in some countries a ‘weakness’ in revenues from media rights emerges.

The increase in operating expenses is particularly strong for some clubs (from +35% for Arsenal to +51% for Chelsea while for Barcelona the increase was ‘only’ 19%). Growth in player wages, usually the biggest expense for a football club, was 4.8% last year, up from 1.8% in 2024. The report recognizes that following a more cautious stance on transfers over the past four years, transfer costs for Spanish and Italian clubs are 33% and 18% lower respectively than at the previous peak. In contrast, outside the top five markets, rising transfer spending is driving record costs.

The ‘red’ record goes to Chelsea FC, owned by the US private equity firm Clearlake Capital, with a loss of 407 million euros. Olympique Lyonnais, also owned by the US, lost 196 million euros, while Tottenham Hotspur lost 148. A key aspect is represented by the ‘international’ ownership of football clubs across Europe. Professional investors, including many US funds, have spent billions of euros buying European football clubs in recent years: Apollo Global Management recently acquired a controlling stake in Atlético Madrid, in a deal that values ​​the Spanish club at over €2 billion; Inter are controlled by debt hedge fund Oaktree Capital, while private equity firm RedBird owns AC Milan. However, the number of takeovers in European football fell for the third consecutive year, with 29 clubs changing ownership compared to 28 in 2022.

Presenting the report UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin speaks of an “encouraging” scenario: “Growth has not been limited to just one sector. Radio and television revenues, revenues from UEFA competitions, sponsorship and commercial revenues and match revenues have increased. Despite the disruption of the pandemic, total club revenues increased on average by more than €1.3 billion per year between 2015 and 2025, with all 54 major European divisions sharing that progress. The report also highlights the scale of change in key streams, including significant increases in domestic television, commercial and entrance fee revenues, and in particular UEFA competition revenues, which have more than doubled over the decade. In 2025 alone, clubs received over €3 billion from UEFA competitions, with solidarity contributions to non-participating clubs exceeding €300 million. Overall, these trends suggest that the wider European football ecosystem is working well, with benefits felt across all countries and competitions.”

Andrea Traverso, UEFA director of research and sustainability, is more cautious, underlining how the report “while highlighting record revenues, also places attention on trends that require ongoing vigilance and control to preserve the future financial sustainability of gaming“. “Creating other revenue streams requires significant investment and additional resources, with a significant increase in non-player salary costs and non-salary operating costs. The share of revenues absorbed by non-salary operating costs is constantly increasing: from 30% in 2021 to a forecast of 36% in 2025”.