By David Owen
February 9 – Much as massed catenaccio defences once frustrated the best strikers, so Europe’s economic woes are slowing revenue growth at the continent’s top football clubs.
The latest version of the Deloitte Football Money League, released today, shows that combined revenues of Europe’s – and the world’s – 20 highest-earning football clubs grew three per cent to €4.4 billion (£3.7 billion/$5.8 billion) in 2010/11.
This was a marked slowdown from the 8 per cent revenue growth recorded in 2009/10.
The Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, once again lead the way, as the sole clubs with revenues of more than €400 million (£335 million/$532 million).
Representatives of the English Premier League – Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea – fill three of the next four places.
The other top six slot is taken by Germany’s biggest club, Bayern Munich, in fourth place.
Three clubs – Atlético Madrid, VfB Stuttgart and Aston Villa – have dropped out of the top 20 this time, being replaced by Borussia Dortmund, Valencia and Napoli.
The Premier League has most representatives in the list, with six clubs, ahead of Italy with five, Germany four, Spain three and France two.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Whilst revenue growth has slowed from 8 per cent in 2009/10 to 3 per cent in 2010/11, [the] large and loyal supporter bases [of football’s top clubs, their] ability to drive strong broadcast audiences and continuing attraction to corporate partners has made them relatively resilient to the economic downturn.”
Commenting on the impact of European football governing body UEFA’s Financial Fair Play breakeven requirement, Paul Rawnsley, a director in the Sports Business Group, said: “The focus on football’s future financial sustainability is more prevalent in Europe than at any time in the past 20 years.
“We remain keen to see that translated into a better balance between revenue and expenditure.”
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