PSG financially dominant in France

The authoritative Swiss Ramble takes a look at the accounts of Paris Saint Germain. PSG were acquired in 2011 by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), a subsidiary of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), making the club by far the richest in France and one of the wealthiest in the world. Nasser Al-Khelaifi is the club’s chairman and CEO.

Pre-tax PSG went from a €19m loss to a €40m profit, a €59m improvement. Revenue (DNCG -the organisation that monitors the accounts of French football clubs - definition) rose €54m (11%) from €503m to a record high of €557m, while profit on player sales shot up €132m to €145m. This was partially offset by significant cost growth.

The €557m revenue is more than five times as much as €101m reported in 2011, i.e. before the QSI acquisition. Majority of the increase has come from commercial €343m, but also good growth in broadcasting €83m and gate receipts €30m.

Looked at another way, PSG alone generated around a third of total revenue in Ligue 1 – as much as the 14 clubs with the lowest revenue combined. Perhaps more tellingly, their revenue was €125m more than Lyon, Marseille and Monaco put together.

The main driver of PSG's €54m revenue growth was other commercial income, which rose €55m (30%) from €184m to €239m, though sponsors and advertising dipped €12m (8%) from €154m to €142m. Broadcasting was up €6m (5%) to €128m, while gate receipts were €6m (14%) higher at €48m.

Average attendance of 46,935 was the highest in France, but only just above Marseille 46,738 & Lyon 46,005. The sizeable revenue difference was mainly due to higher prices in Paris, especially corporates. Included a club record 35,700 season ticket holders (up from 8,500 in 2011).

PSG were the most profitable club in France with €40m profit before tax, more than twice as much as the closest challenger Angers €17m, followed by Lyon €12m. 15 out of 20 Ligue 1 clubs made a profit, but large losses posted by Lille €142m, Marseille €78m & Bordeaux €21m.

PSG benefited from €145m profit on player sales, including Moura, Matuidi, Aurier, Pastore and Augustin. Even this impressive figure was dwarfed by Monaco’s extraordinary €316m profit, as they sold many of their title-winning team. Excluding this, PSG loss would have been €106m. Traditionally PSG have made very little money from player sales. In fact, the 2018 €145m profit is more than twice the previous nine seasons combined. However, this could become increasingly important to help meet FFP, as seen by last summer’s sales of Guedes, Berchiche and Edouard.

In 2017/18 PSG earned €62m for reaching the Champions League last 16, €7m better than the previous season. PSG have earned almost €300m from Europe in the last five years, which is 3rd highest of all clubs, only behind Juventus €406m & Real Madrid €360m.

Following a dip in 2017, PSG's wage bill rose by €60m (22%) from €272m to €332m in 2018, increasing wages to turnover ratio from 54% to 60%, mainly due to arrival of Neymar and Mbappé. Interestingly, revenue and wage growth over last 3 years are almost identical at around €75m.

Wolves get raw deal from FFP

I used to see a lifelong Wolves fan for lunch once a month. He was approaching ninety, but still went to games. Sadly he passed away the other week. As football finance guru Kieran Maguire has noted, Wolves continue to be constrained by financial fair play rules. Radio 4 this morning described them as this year's 'crisis club' and the pessimists have certainly been piling in. Martin Samuel wrote sympathetically in the Sunday Times yesterday, saying that the Premier League drives talent away with regulatory red tape: 'Why could Al-Hilal sign Neves? Because Wolves needed the money. And why did Wolves need the money? Because the club had to comply with an artificial construct known as financial fair play. So Wolves are going skint, yes? No. There is no suggestion that Wolves are in financial trouble, only that they are failing to meet the rigours of FFP. Wolves’ owners appear to have the money to run the club, and invest in the club, and in fact came up with a pow

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000. The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts. Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is

Charlton takeover approved

The long awaited takeover of Charlton Athletic by SE7 Partners from Thomas Sandgaard has been approved: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/se7-partners-obtain-efl-approval-for-charlton-athletic-takeover/ Charlton have had unhappy experiences with owners for over a decade, so how this works out will remain to be seen. There is certainly potential there, but will it be realised? This interview with Charlie Methven gives detail not available elsewhere: https://thecharltondossier.com/charlie-methven-on-the-record/

The Political Economy of Football V2

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