English football’s financial might was demonstrated anew on Thursday as business analysts Deloitte revealed that England’s 92 professional clubs generated record £4 billion ($5.8 billion, 5.2 billion euros) revenues in 2014-15.
Fired by the all-powerful Premier League, which saw revenues climb three percent to £3.3 billion, England’s professional clubs breached the £4 billion threshold for the first time.
Premier League clubs generated £1.5 billion more than their nearest rivals in Germany’s Bundesliga and with a new £5.14 billion television rights deal due to kick in this year, their dominance is set to continue.
“The pace of football’s financial growth in two and a half decades is staggering,” said Dan Jones from Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
“By half-time of the second televised Premier League game next year (season), more broadcast revenue will have been generated than during the whole of the First Division season 25 years ago.
“For the first time, the Premier League leads the football world in all three key revenue categories — commercial, match-day and broadcast — and this is driving sustainable profitability.
“When the enhanced new broadcast deals commence in the 2016-17 season, operating profits could rise as high as £1 billion.”
Deloitte’s 25th Annual Review of Football Finance revealed that Premier League clubs recorded a second consecutive year of pre-tax profits in the 2014-15 financial year (£121 million), which last happened in 1999.
While the revenue increase was a modest three percent, operating profitability (£546 million) was the second highest it has ever been.
Combined gross expenditure on new players reached a record high of £1.1 billion and wage costs rose seven percent to exceed £2 billion for the first time.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate