Football is a story. Take for example the current Euro – the ability is far from impressive, but how can you remain indifferent when Cristiano Ronaldo cries after missing a penalty? How can you not be excited when the Danish Christian Eriksen scores after the previous bureau he collapsed and underwent resuscitation on the field? And yet, despite the romance, behind the story of the beloved game, like most exciting things, there is money. A lot of money.
Last week, the consulting firm Deloitte published its annual review for the 2023/2022 season on the economy of European football, with a clear conclusion: it does not stop growing. The revenues of the clubs on the continent that season stood at 35.3 billion euros, with an increase of 16% compared to the year before. Deloitte even estimates that at the end of the year the revenues will amount to 37.6 million euros and in two years to 39.1 million. In short, there is no sign on the horizon that could indicate the weakening of the football empire.
“Soccer is positioning itself as the biggest global game,” says Oren Rozman, partner and leader of the communications, media and sports sector at Deloitte Israel. “No matter how much effort basketball and the other branches invest, soccer is the most dominant in terms of popularity, sympathy and exposure. This of course creates many opportunities for clubs to increase their income from fans around the world. Today, soccer broadcasts have turned from a sought-after product into a critical product. Soccer is the holy grail of television.”
Oren Rozman / Photo: Micah Lobton
Five countries, and one above them all
Although football is popular throughout Europe, the money is mostly found in five countries – England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France. The groups in these countries brought in 19.6 billion euros last year, a 14% increase compared to the year before. Above them all, almost in a league of its own, stands English football, which brought in about 7 billion euros in the last year, an increase of 8% from last year.
The more dominant component of English football’s income – 53% of income – is broadcasting rights. “In the end, this is the story,” emphasizes Prof. Alex Cromer from the Department of Sports Management at Molde University in Norway. “English football brought in 3.7 billion euros last year from broadcast rights, while the German league, for example, brought in 1.5 billion from these rights.”
How can these huge differences be explained?
“There is no unequivocal answer to this, but it is much easier to sell a league in the English language. If in remote villages in India there is a demand to watch English football, then it is clear that the advertisers will understand the meaning and invest a lot of money. English football also has a tradition, and it probably also has a significant value for the scouts”.
Beyond broadcast rights, 33% of the income of the English teams comes from sponsors and marketing, and 14% comes from revenue on match days (tickets and subscriptions). “In one of the tables in the report there is a reference to the occupancy of the stadiums in the English league,” says Roseman. “When I saw her, I was shocked. All the stadiums are filled almost to capacity, there is no way to get tickets. The whole league is sold out.”
And yet, even though the English league has the highest revenue, this year’s European champion came from Madrid. Could it be that the money differences are not expressed in ability?
“This is one of the most interesting and controversial questions. When you look at the English league as a whole, there is no doubt that it is the strongest and richest. But I am not sure that this is true at the top – in all the leagues there are very strong top teams. By the way, there is also an argument that because the English league is so strong, the teams They arrive at the European factories exhausted.”
Be that as it may, the high popularity of the English league may also slaughter a sacred cow, according to which competition is what generates interest. “There is no doubt that the league should be competitive at one level or another,” says Cromer, “but if we look at the English league in recent years, it seems that Manchester City has won six championships out of the last seven. That is, the competitiveness is not really high, and yet the matter breaks every record possible.
“At the end of the story, it’s the stars and the ability. During the time of the sprinter Usain Bolt, everyone knew who would win and he still broke ratings records. People love a show.”
“Business is different from anything we know”
Although English football is in a league of its own, the biggest relative growths in the past year were in the German and Italian leagues, with a 22% increase in each. The German league, the Bundesliga, brought in €3.8 billion, with matchday revenue almost doubling.
All of this raises the question again if a football team can be a profitable product. “Despite the extraordinary revenues, when you look at the profit line you get a different story,” says Cromer. “England, for example, stands at a loss of 788 million, before tax. When incomes rise, expenses also rise.
“You have to remember that football is a business completely different from anything else we know. In normal business you want to make a profit, in football it is not at all clear that this is the goal. What is more clear is that the teams want to win, and that there is also pressure from the fans to invest more. Profitability in football is usually expressed in the forms Miscellany – for example, opening doors for the owner’s other businesses. It’s actually like marketing expenses.”
“The key to profitability is the percentage of the players’ salaries out of the revenues,” explains Roseman. “We see today that for some clubs it is 70-80%, these are numbers that are very difficult to make a profit on. In addition, significant capitalists have entered football in recent years and they make it much more expensive to succeed as a big club. The amounts in the transfer market are increasing.”
Does this also have an effect on Israel?
“Definitely, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa made very significant deals this year. The process starts with the largest groups in Europe, but it also boosts the medium and small market. By the way, in recent years both Israeli teams have been profitable. Their stadiums were full almost throughout the season, they did very well in the European arenas and brought in very nice sums.”
Women’s soccer: “This is the industry to invest in now”
Beyond the men’s soccer that is sweeping Europe, it is also worth paying attention to the women’s soccer that may be starting to raise its head – in the last year the revenues grew by 50% and reached 48 million pounds. The forecasts indicate a continued increase and reach 68 million in the 2024/25 season. “What’s happening now in women’s soccer happened 30 years ago in men’s soccer,” Kromer explains. This is the industry to invest in now.”
“It is very important at the social level, even before the economic level,” concludes Roseman. “In Europe the numbers are starting to climb and I hope Israel will also start investing in the field. The potential is enormous. There is no reason why women should not be a full part of the most popular sport in the world.”
For your attention: The Globes system strives for a diverse, relevant and respectful discourse in accordance with the code of ethics that appears in the trust report according to which we operate. Expressions of violence, racism, incitement or any other inappropriate discourse are filtered out automatically and will not be published on the site.