By Andrew Warshaw
January 29 – The English Premier League maybe the most watched televised league globally but German football is still the best attended and continues to set an example when it comes to economic stability and collective responsibility.
On the pitch, the Bundesliga illustrated its growing influence when Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League Final last May.
Off it, latest figures show the Bundesliga recorded its ninth successive turnover record. The €2.17 billion recorded for 2012-13 exceeded the previous year’s total by 4.4%.
This represented €383.5 million in operating profits, the highest of all time. Particularly eye-catching is the fact that 17 of the 18 top-division clubs were in the black, up from 14 the previous fiscal year. Only seven had registered a profit back in the 2009-10 season.
On the expenditure side, salaries for players and coaches – such a thorny issue for UEFA – remained stable at 39% while the Bundesliga second division recorded the highest turnover in its history with €419.4 million, a 9.1% increase.
Some 15 of the 18 second division clubs recorded positive overall numbers according to the Bundesliga Report 2014.
The 36 clubs in the top two divisions combined also posted their ninth straight turnover record with a combined figure of €2.59 billion. The second division broke the €400 million turnover mark for the first time.
“The Bundesliga is succeeding in the split between top level sports performance and economic rationality, especially compared to others in Europe,” said DFL chief executive Christian Seifert said without saying which leagues he was referring to.
“Thanks also to the further increases with the media contracts that take effect this season, the league is on the road to extending its position as the second-strongest earning football league in Europe.”
With UEFA’s financial fair play rules soon to hit home, the figures prove what can be done without being over-ambitious.
“The clubs have acted with good financial sense and with the aim of tight cost control,” said DFL president Reinhard Rauball.
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