Eye on the prize Today, 14 January 2020, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte has released the 23rd edition of the Deloitte Football Money League (‘DFML’), which analyses the highest earning clubs by revenue in the world’s most popular sport. FC Barcelona reach the top of the Money League for the first time ever and at the same time become the first club to break the €800m barrier, generating revenue of €840.8m. Real Madrid fall to second, generating revenue of €757.3m, meaning it is a Spanish one-two for the second consecutive year, however the gap to first place is the highest in the publication’s history (€83.5m). Manchester United (€711.5m) and Bayern Munich (€660.1m) remain in third and fourth position respectively, with Paris Saint-Germain (€635.9m) entering the top five at the expense of Manchester City (€610.6m) who drop to sixth place. The growth of revenue for football clubs over the past two decades has been driven by a surge in broadcast rights values, both for domestic and international competitions. Whether the largest football leagues have reached a plateau in broadcast rights value is debatable, however broadcast revenue generation is ultimately out of the control of an individual club. To achieve above average revenue growth in the future, clubs will need to focus on differentiating revenue streams that they have the most influence over. Their challenge is to do so at a time where the future landscape looks more unpredictable than ever. A further challenge to clubs is how they can meet the evolving needs of fans, and throughout this publication we explore some of the market trends and suggestions of potential solutions available to clubs. Those that keep their eye on the prize really do have the opportunity to grow their revenue and those that accept the status quo risk standing still. The Report is free to download from www.deloitte.co.uk/dfml and includes analysis of the changing economic climate, and the opportunities and solutions available to clubs as they adapt to innovative ways to generate revenue commercially, particularly through digital transformation. Download the report DFML in numbers
This year’s edition is again powered by the Deloitte Football Intelligence Tool, which provides unrivalled access and insights into the financial performance of European football. The subscription tool is available to all - to learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Over the last 20 years Deloitte has developed a unique focus on the business of sport and in that time our specialist Sports Business Group has advised leagues, federations and clubs from over 35 countries, including more than 50 governing bodies and over 15 International governing bodies. We offer a multi-disciplined expert service with dedicated people and skills capable of adding significant value to the business of sport. Thanks once again to those members of the team who compiled this year’s report and assisted in its collation - we hope you enjoy this edition. Best regards, Dan Jones Global lead for Sports Business © 2020 Deloitte LLP. All rights reserved. This communication is from Deloitte LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC303675. Its registered office is 1 New Street Square, London EC4A 3HQ, United Kingdom.
Sports Law & Taxation features: articles; comparative surveys; commentaries on topical sports legal and tax issues and documentation.
The unique feature of Sports Law & Taxation is that this Journal combines up-to-date valuable and must-have information on the legal and tax aspects of sport and their interrelationships.
Global Sports Law and Taxation Reports feature: articles; comparative surveys; commentaries on topical sports legal and tax issues and documentation.
The unique feature of Global Sports Law and Taxation Reports is that this Journal combines for the first time up to-date valuable and must-have information on the legal and tax aspects of sport and their interrelationships.
The editors of the Journal Sports Law & Taxation are Professor Ian Blackshaw and Dr Rijkele Betten, with specialist contributions from the world's leading practitioners and academics in the sports law and taxation fields.
Managing editor
Dr. Rijkele Betten
Consulting editor
Prof. Dr. Ian S. Blackshaw
Prof. Guglielmo Maisto
Maisto e Associati, Milano
Mr. Kevin Offer
Hardwick & Morris LLP, London
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