Deloitte estimates the aggregated income of all clubs in the top divisions in Europe to be EUR7.1bn for 2001/02, rising from EUR6.6 billion in 2000/01.
The ‘big five’ leagues - England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France - dominate with an 80 percent share.
The English Premiership has the largest individual share at 25 percent. Adding in lower divisions, federations and national teams and UEFA competitions, Deloitte estimates the total European football finance market at around EUR10bn.
Said Dan Jones, director of Deloitte & Touche Sport, the sports business consultancy: “The past year has been a difficult one for football finances. Our report clearly shows grounds for optimism, but not complacency. The game has never had more money and England’s clubs lead the world in all areas of income generation and also in stadium investment.
"What is needed now is strong management and leadership to control costs and improve the bottom line. Again, England’s clubs are the best placed in Europe to achieve that.”
Jones also believes the European clubs have one key area where they should be learning from their English counterparts.
He adds: “England’s matchday incomes are now almost three times those of other big leagues. The transformation of English stadia through spending of almost EUR1.56bn in 11 seasons is fantastic.
"German, Italian and Spanish clubs need to address revenue generation and commercial issues at their stadia urgently or they will fall further behind.”
European League Football
