By Paul Nicholson
June 17 – You can’t win the Champions League unless you lash out at least €200 million in wages, according to the first set of figures and analysis released from the new Football Benchmark database launched by accountancy giants KPMG’s sports team.
The database figures show all UEFA Champions League winners since 2011/12 had total staff costs in excess of €200 million, with this year’s winners FC Barcelona having total wage costs of almost €250 million in 2013/14 and projecting to spend more than €270 million in 2014/15.
The cost of failing to make the final is high. The Benchmark research shows that three out of the four Champions League semi-finalists in the 2014/15 season were already spending above €200 million on total staff costs in 2013/14.
Juventus, losing finalists to Barcelona this season, have been dominant in their domestic league since 2011/12 but in contrast had a total wage expenditure of less than €200 million.
The KPMG analysis finds that it is possible to have success in domestic leagues with a spend of less than €200 million on wages.
But the cost threshold for Champions League glory is higher as Barcelona proved this season and Real Madrid CF, FC Bayern München and Chelsea FC proved in the previous three seasons with total staff costs in excess of €200 million in the season of their UEFA Champions League success.
The runners up on each of these occasions each had total staff costs below €200 million. Club Atletico de Madrid had a wage bill of €113 in 2013/14, while Borussia Dortmund who reached the two previous finals were even lower at €106 million.
Andrea Sartori, Global Head of Sport at KPMG, said: “Whilst in an individual season, across the European ‘big five’ leagues, the combination of domestic league success with total staff costs below €200m, is not unique – it has been achieved recently by Montpellier HSC, Borussia Dortmund, and Club Atletico de Madrid – it is the regularity of this feat by Juventus since 2011/12 which is interesting.
“However, based on our analysis, it is the conversion of domestic success on to a European level, whilst not spending above €200m per year in total staff costs, which appears to be a more challenging proposition.”
Sartori added: “Juventus have reported growth in total staff cost of over 6% in the first nine months of 2014/15 which, if continued in the last quarter of the financial year, would take them to a final year end figure close to, but potentially still below, €200 million.”
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