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£5bn Premier League still sees clubs lose money

Deloitte have produced their authoritative annual review of football finance.  It was compiled before the Covid-19 pandemic, but contains some warning signs on the financial challenges faced by football: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html

Revenues in the 'top five' leagues rose to a record €17 billion, but much of the growth was swallowed up by increases to players' wages.   Deloitte predicts that revenues will fall to €15.1bn in the coming season (which could be optimistic).

Revenue for the Premier League topped £5bn for the first time in the 2018/19 season, but its 20 member clubs recorded a combined pre-tax loss of £165m.

Wages in the English top tier rose 11 per cent to €3.6bn last season, but agreements on temporary pay cuts for players have not been reached at most clubs.

France's Ligue 1 recorded an operating loss of €306bn, while in Serie A an operating profit of €59m the previous season turned into a €36 operating loss.

In the Bundesliga, the blow of the pandemic was cushioned by resuming play in May and operating profit rose to €394m.

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