The 20 football clubs that generate the most income in the world will lose close to 2,000 million euros at the end of this season, 2020/21, affected by the crisis derived from COVID-19, according to the twenty-fourth edition of the Deloitte Football Money League report .

"The interruption of the 2019/20 football season, the different ways that the leagues in each country have had to respond to the pandemic, either by postponing or ending the season, as well as the difference in approaches from business partners, chains and broadcasters have had a direct impact on the income generated by the clubs in the 2019/20 season ", explains Concha Iglesias, partner in charge of Sports at Deloitte Spain.

In most clubs, the interruption of the 2019/20 season has meant that approximately one quarter of revenue for the fiscal year ending in 2020 has been carried over to the next, resulting in 2021 with an additional quarter.

Season 2019/20

The twenty football clubs with the highest turnover in the world, according to the ranking prepared by Deloitte, generated 8.2 billion euros last season, 2019/20, interrupted by the crisis derived from COVID-19.

This represents a decrease of 12% after the historical record registered the previous season, in which the twenty clubs that lead the classification accumulated 9,283 million euros in revenue.

This reduction of just over one billion is explained, first of all, by the decrease in retransmission income of 937 million euros (23%), mainly due to the postponement of income to the next fiscal year, which ends in 2021, and to the reimbursements to channels and stations for the interrupted season and, secondly, for the fall in the income of the days, when the matches were postponed, canceled or held behind closed doors, which represents around 257 million euros (17 %).

The Deloitte report also points to an increase of 105 million euros (3%) in commercial revenues that offset the above.

"The crisis derived from COVID-19 has pushed the clubs to rethink and recalibrate their strategic objectives and business models, so that they can ensure a solid and prompt recovery," says Concha Iglesias.

The Deloitte expert focuses on digital capabilities, both internal and external, as one of the key strategies to consider as digital interaction has become the predominant way in which clubs can connect with their fans and employees.

"The most agile and innovative clubs will be the best positioned to add value to their stakeholders and emerge stronger," he explains.

In this sense, according to the survey included in the report and carried out with fans from 20 countries, 93% plan to return to the stadiums when allowed.

"Meanwhile, content, tools and digital channels are key to improving the experience and fan engagement," says the expert.

According to this same survey, 86% of fans consider that the lack of public in stadiums worsens the viewing experience and 48% believe that through additional analytics (such as previews or highlights) it would improve their experience.

On the other hand, 58% demand additional content "behind the scenes" or outside the game (such as interviews or live training).

The ranking

Despite the very particular conditions faced by the leagues during the 2019/20 season, the composition of the Deloitte Football Money League ranking remains quite similar to previous years: FC Barcelona remains in first position, with revenues of 715, 1 million euros, followed by Real Madrid, which reports 714.9 million euros in revenue.

The gap between the two, of 0.2 million euros, is the tightest in the history of the report.

The merengue club has suffered a drop in income less than that of the Catalans, although Bayern Munich, which this year reaches third position, (634.1 million euros), is the club with the least decrease in income ( 4%) of the top 10 in the ranking, benefiting from the fact that it has been able to include retransmission revenues in the 2020 financial year, thanks to the fact that the Budesliga season ends earlier.

Thus, Manchester United is in fourth position with a fall in revenue of 131.1 million euros.

For its part, Liverpool enters the top 5 for the first time since 2001/02, with 558.6 million euros in revenue, and the other Spanish team that makes up the top 20, Atlético de Madrid maintains the thirteenth position in the ranking, with revenues of 331.8 million euros.

In this new edition of the report, FC Zenit (15th position in the standings) and Eintracht Frankfurt (20th) enter the world top 20, replacing AS Roma and West Ham United, respectively.

Only two clubs in the study's top 20, FC Zenit and Everton (17th) showed an increase in their income compared to the previous year.

In the case of Everton, the increase is explained by the growth of the club's commercial income, (86.7 million euros), the highest growth in commercial income of all the clubs that are part of the Deloitte Football Money League.

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