Liverpool’s Champions League win has already guaranteed up to £30million in revenue for the club with more to come.
Overall, Premiership clubs earned £1.3billion of revenue in 2003/04, making the Premier League the biggest league in Europe by a record margin and representing 18 per cent of the total European market.
The 2003/04 season marked Chelsea’s first full year under new ownership which has, not surprisingly, had a substantial influence on the English and European game. Deloitte estimates £300million has already been invested in the club, rewarded with Chelsea’s first Premier League title.
Chelsea’s spending on player wages and transfers contributed to total expenditure on players of more than £1billion for the first season ever. However, Chelsea aside, Premier League wages actually fell – again, a first.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “The Premiership continues to go from strength to strength with solid top line growth. This gives the Premiership a competitive advantage compared to its European rivals, most notably when it comes to attracting and retaining top quality players.
“Premiership and Football League clubs have also had success in reining back costs, particularly wages, and in doing so have improved the profitability of English professional football.”
Premier League clubs grew revenue by six per cent in 2003/04 to £1.3billion, equating to average revenue of £66.3million per club – over 50 per cent more than the £43million average in Italy’s Serie A, its nearest competitor.
Growth was driven by broadcast revenues (up 9 per cent, or £50million) and matchday revenue (up 9 per cent or £32million).
Premier League clubs also recorded significantly higher operating profitability than their European counterparts; there were record operating profits of £149million (or £7.5million per club). Within the other ‘big five’ leagues only German clubs recorded operating profits and these were substantially lower than in 2002/03.
In 2004/05 Deloitte expect a small fall in Premier League revenues due to the first year of the new broadcasting deals.
However, they only expect a modest fall due to clubs being successful in boosting matchday and commercial revenues to compensate.
