Tuesday 26 January 2021 12:01 am  |  Updated:  Monday 25 January 2021 7:40 pm

Covid-19 deals €2bn blow to world’s leading football clubs, says Deloitte

By: Frank Dalleres

Sports Editor

The world’s 20 richest clubs will lose €2bn in revenue due to Covid-19, says Deloitte’s latest Football Money League report.

Those teams have already seen income fall €1.1bn to €8.2bn in 2019-20 and Deloitte predicts a similar effect in 2020-21.

Football clubs have lost significant revenue from matchday activity and broadcast rights payments during the pandemic.

Manchester United and Barcelona suffered drops in income of €131m and €125m respectively in 2019-20, according to the Football Money League.

“Since the Premier League started [in 1992], it’s definitely the biggest single year impact we’ve seen from a financial perspective,” Sam Boor, senior manager in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told Morning Wire

Matchday income has been affected as teams have been forced to close stadiums or operate at greatly reduced capacity.

Some broadcast payments have had to be repaid due to leagues being delayed or cancelled.

Other TV rights fees were deferred from 2019-20 to 2020-21 due to the late completion of most competitions.

Football Money League findings

Of the €1.1bn fall in revenue among elite clubs, €937m related to delayed or repaid broadcast fees, says Deloitte.

Matchday income contracted by €257m, while commercial earnings increased €105m.

“For financial year 2021, we think the overall money generated by Football Money League clubs will be similar to financial year 2020,” Boor added.

“So you get the benefit of some of the deferral of broadcast money from 19-20 into 20-21, but that’s offset by having a full year of virtually no matchday revenue.

“But we would expect a significant rebound the year after, assuming people go back to watching games live.”

The Football Money League report, which also ranks the 20 richest clubs in the world, is published today.

DELOITTE 2021 FOOTBALL MONEY LEAGUE: THE WORLD’S RICHEST FOOTBALL CLUBS

Click on the club badge for revenue breakdowns and further details.

Barcelona

Barcelona retained top spot by just €200,000 from bitter domestic rivals Real Madrid. Having earned a record sum in 2018-19, Barca’s revenue plummeted by €125m in 19-20.

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Matchday Revenue: €126.4m
Broadcasting Revenue: €248.5m
Commercial Revenue: €340.2m

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Total Revenue: €715.1m

Real Madrid

Real Madrid earned only fractionally less than Barcelona after their income shrank by a relatively meagre €42m. Spain’s big two remain a cut above in the revenue-generating stakes.

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Matchday Revenue: €108.2m
Broadcasting Revenue: €224.0m
Commercial Revenue: €382.7m

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Total Revenue: €714.9m

Bayern Munich

European champions Bayern Munich’s revenue fell just €26m as German clubs benefited from finishing their season, thus realising TV payments, before the end of their financial year.

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Matchday Revenue: €70.3m
Broadcasting Revenue: €203.3m
Commercial Revenue: €360.5m

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Total Revenue: €634.1m

Manchester United

Covid-19’s impact on sport and the absence of Champions League football pushed Manchester United out of the top three earners. Revenue fell by €131m, the most of any club.

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Matchday Revenue: €98.8m
Broadcasting Revenue: €159.9m
Commercial Revenue: €321.7m

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Total Revenue: €580.4m

Liverpool

Liverpool climbed into the top five despite revenue falling by €46m. All Premier League clubs’ 2019-20 income suffered as a result of the pandemic delaying completion of the season.

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Matchday Revenue: €82.7m
Broadcasting Revenue: €232.5m
Commercial Revenue: €243.4m

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Total Revenue: €558.6m

Manchester City

Revenue fell by €61m but Manchester City remained the sixth richest club in the world. Like their Premier League rivals, a delayed end to the season dented their 2019-20 accounts.

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Matchday Revenue: €47.6m
Broadcasting Revenue: €217.0m
Commercial Revenue: €284.6m

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Total Revenue: €549.2m

Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain slipped two places as revenue fell by €95m. All French clubs lost significant matchday and TV income as a result of the Ligue 1 season being cancelled in April.

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Matchday Revenue: €92.4m
Broadcasting Revenue: €149.6m
Commercial Revenue: €298.6m

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Total Revenue: €540.6m

Chelsea

Chelsea climbed one place despite seeing revenue fall by €43m. Like all Premier League clubs, they lost matchday and TV income because Covid-19 delayed completion of the season.

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Matchday Revenue: €62.1m
Broadcasting Revenue: €208.2m
Commercial Revenue: €199.4m

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Total Revenue: €469.7m

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham slipped a place as their revenue fell by €75m. Their drop was particularly marked after record earnings in 2018-19, while closed stadia dented valuable matchday income.

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Matchday Revenue: €107.7m
Broadcasting Revenue: €155.0m
Commercial Revenue: €183.0m

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Total Revenue: €445.7m

Juventus

Juventus are the highest-placed of three Italian clubs in the top 20 but only scrape into the top 10. Revenue dropped €62m as Covid-19 delayed the completion of the Serie A season.

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Matchday Revenue: €42.3m
Broadcasting Revenue: €166.7m
Commercial Revenue: €188.9m

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Total Revenue: €397.9m

Arsenal

Arsenal saw revenue fall by €57m but remained in touching distance of the top 10. Like neighbours Tottenham, they suffered the financial effects of empty stadia more than most.

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Matchday Revenue: €89.7m
Broadcasting Revenue: €136.0m
Commercial Revenue: €162.3m

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Total Revenue: €388.0m

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund made up ground on non-German clubs as their revenue only fell by €6m. The completion of the Bundesliga before the end of June meant TV payments were largely unaffected.

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Matchday Revenue: €46.3m
Broadcasting Revenue: €169.8m
Commercial Revenue: €149.6m

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Total Revenue: €365.7m

Atletico Madrid

Spain’s third richest club earned less than half the revenue of Barcelona or Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid saw revenue fall by €36m as the pandemic hit broadcast and matchday income.

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Matchday Revenue: €50.4m
Broadcasting Revenue: €198.5m
Commercial Revenue: €82.9m

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Total Revenue: €331.8m

Inter Milan

Inter Milan’s income dropped by €73m, or around a fifth. The late completion of Serie A meant all Italian clubs saw remaining TV payments delayed until the 2020-21 financial year.

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Matchday Revenue: €56.9m
Broadcasting Revenue: €136.0m
Commercial Revenue: €98.6m

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Total Revenue: €291.5m

Zenit St Petersburg

The only club in the top 20 not from one of Europe’s five biggest leagues, Zenit saw revenue grow by €56m. Their accounts fell at the end of 2019 so were not affected by the pandemic.

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Matchday Revenue: €14.8m
Broadcasting Revenue: €46.7m
Commercial Revenue: €175.0m

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Total Revenue: €236.5m

Schalke

The loss of Champions League football coupled with the pandemic took €102m off Schalke’s revenue. Sponsors such as Gazprom help the club punch above its weight commercially.

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Matchday Revenue: €35.7m
Broadcasting Revenue: €94.9m
Commercial Revenue: €92.2m

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Total Revenue: €222.8m

Everton

Everton climbed two places as one of only two clubs on the list to increase revenue. The Toffees offset hits to broadcast and matchday income by doubling their commercial earnings.

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Matchday Revenue: €13.6m
Broadcasting Revenue: €111.7m
Commercial Revenue: €86.7m

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Total Revenue: €212.0m

Lyon

Revenue at Champions League semi-finalists Lyon fell by €40m. The cancellation of Ligue 1 hit TV and matchday earnings, while income from their European run will leak into 2020-21 accounts.

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Matchday Revenue: €35.5m
Broadcasting Revenue: €97.6m
Commercial Revenue: €47.6m

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Total Revenue: €180.7m

Napoli

The third Italian club in the top 20, Napoli saw revenue dip by €31m. Like all Serie A teams, they were affected by delayed or withheld TV payments and lower than usual matchday income.

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Matchday Revenue: €13.2m
Broadcasting Revenue: €127.4m
Commercial Revenue: €35.7m

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Total Revenue: €176.3m

Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt climbed seven places despite revenue falling by €8m. Like other German sides, they benefited from the timely completion of the 2019-2020 Bundesliga season.

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Matchday Revenue: €38.6m
Broadcasting Revenue: €91.0m
Commercial Revenue: €44.4m

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Total Revenue: €174.0m