The Europe Big Five have lost a combined revenue of €670 million in the 2019/20 season in the massive impact of the coronavirus lockdown on the entire football industry.
Data by SafeBettingSites.com shows that FC Barcelona Revenues Slumped by €275 million, the biggest Loss among the top five clubs leaving Real Madrid, FC Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Liverpool FC, to share the remaining loss of €395 million in the 2019/20 season.
The costly financial hit came despite broadcasters, club owners, and sponsors’ efforts to minimise the losses caused by postponed matches and empty stadiums.
The revenues of the European football clubs have soared in the last twenty years, primarily driven by a surge in broadcast rights values. In the season 2009/10, profits of the big five European football leagues amounted to €8.4bn, revealed Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance 2020. Over the last decade, this figure grew by 115 percent, reaching €17bn in 2018/2019.
Europe’s top 20 football clubs generated almost 55 percent of that value, or €9.3bn, revealed the Deloitte Football Money League 2021.
However, huge drops in broadcast and matchday profits triggered by the COVID-19 lockdown caused their combined revenues to fall to €8.2 billion in 2019/20, down 12per cent on the prior season.
During the 2019/2020 season, FC Barcelona was the leader among top-20 European football clubs by total revenue. However, the Spanish club also suffered the worst financial hit amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics show FC Barcelona generated €715.1 million in revenue in the 2019/2020 season, almost a €275 million plunge in a year.
As one of the most prestigious football clubs worldwide, Real Madrid has seen its revenues more than double in the past decade. In the 2018/2019 season, the club had an enterprise value of approximately €4.2bn and generated €757 million in revenue. However, statistics show the club’s revenues plunged by €65 million in the 2019/2020 season.
Manchester United Lost €167M in revenue amid COVID-19, 3.5 times more than Liverpool
As the third-largest football club by revenue, FC Bayern Munich also witnessed impressive revenue growth in recent years. Statistics show German club’s revenues more than doubled in a decade, jumping to over €750 million in the 2018/2019 season. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a costly hit to the club`s finances, with revenue plunging by €116.3 million last season.
Deloitte data reveals that the leading Premier League club, Manchester United, suffered the second-largest revenue cut among the top five European football clubs. In 2020, the club’s revenues hit €630 million, almost a €167 million plunge in a year.
As the fifth-largest football club on this list, Liverpool FC generated €558.6 million in revenue in the 2019/2020 season, down €46 million on the prior season.
