Back in the Money League

Over the last few months we have thoroughly covered both the financial results for FC Bayern and the potential implications of those results. Deloitte recently released their Money League report which provides consistent reporting periods (2018/19) across all clubs for a final picture of how Bayern stacked up.

Marc

February 7, 2020

On a yearly basis Deloitte releases their Money League results which focuses on the revenue performance of the major clubs in Europe over the previous financial year. This is widely regarded as an excellent tool to quickly and easily compare the financial results of the footballing world.

Overall there was not much change as Bayern remained the 4th largest club in terms of revenue at €660.1 million. Barcelona was top at €840.8, Real was second with €757.3, Manchester United third with €711.5 and PSG rounded out the top 5 at €635.9. (All figures exclude profit from player sales.)

Tellingly, the rest of the top 10 is comprised of English sides except Juventus who snuck in at 10, just a hair above Arsenal at 11. Dortmund made a strong showing at 12 and Schalke at 15 is the only other Bundesliga team that made the top 30 teams.

While these rankings are important, revenue is always one of the first line items people look at, I would caution against using only this report to determine any of the clubs overall financial health. While revenue gives you insight into how much cash the club had access to, it doesn’t tell how it was used or how much debt it went towards. For instance the spending habits of all the clubs in the top 10 vary widely. Real and Barca tend to spend big where Bayern are usually more conservative.

Of course the trend of those widening revenue marks between Bayern and the top three is concerning. Despite Bayern’s more conservative nature, they still have to play within the FFP rules and in general the more revenue you bring in the easier it is to hit those targets.

Overall the results are in line with expectations and generally very positive. The differences between themselves and the other top clubs are due to circumstances out of the board’s control, i.e. the revenue generated via broadcasting in their domestic league. The good news though is they are still light years ahead of the clubs outside of the top 10.