Big gap between one and two in Germany

The latest club accounts to be subjected to forensic security by the Swiss Ramble from Zurich are those of Borussia Dortmund.

The club’s pre-tax loss widened from €47m to €73m, as revenue dropped €35m (9%) from €379m to €345m and profit on player sales fell €25m from €40m to €15m, partly offset by cutting operating expenses by €31m and net interest payable decreasing €2m.

The €73m pre-tax loss is the highest in Germany, though it should be emphasised that these accounts are the first published for the 2020/21 season, so the only ones that include a full year of the pandemic. In 2019/20 eight of the 18 clubs lost more than €20m.

After nine consecutive years of profits, which generated €227m between 2011 and 2019, BVB have now posted losses in each of the last two years, amounting to €120m. The board expects another net loss in 2021/22, albeit much lower (between €12m and €17m)

The €35m revenue fall was due to COVID driven reductions in match operations, down €32m (98%) to €1m, and commercial, down €21m (12%) to €147m. On the other hand, broadcasting rose €17m (10%) to €187m, mainly Champions League money, while other income was up €1m to €10m.

Clearly COVID has had a significant effect on club finances. The Swiss Ramble estimates the revenue loss in 2020/21 to be around €64m (match day €32m, catering & hospitality €29m and UEFA TV rebate €3m). Without this impact, the revenue would have been €408m, a club record.

The profit on player sales fell €25m from €40m to €15m with the only sizeable sale being Toprak to Werder Bremen. Jadon Sancho’s big money move to Manchester United came after these accounts. Despite the slowdown in 2021, transfer deals have become an important part of the club’s strategy with €358m player trading profit in the 5 years up to 2020, one of the highest in Europe

The revenue gap between BVB and Bayern Munich has narrowed in recent years, but was still €268m in 2020. Put another way, Bayern’s €634m revenue was 73% higher than Dortmund’s €366m (Money League figures), which is a huge difference between the first and second ranked clubs.

They have earned a hefty €294m from European competition in the last five years, much less than Bayern Munich €427m, but a fair way above RB Leipzig €171m, Leverkusen €111m and Mönchengladbach €86m. From 2021/22 the German TV rights will be 70% higher (DAZN, Amazon & ZDF).

The wage bill increased slightly by €1m to €216m, which is the club’s highest ever, despite some salary cuts due to COVID. Wages have grown by almost €100m since €118m in 2015, though the gap to Bayern Munich (€340m) was still a substantial €125m in 2020.

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion. Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs. An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...

Reports about Charlton sale exaggerated

Reports have appeared in The Guardian and elsewhere that Charlton has been put up for sale. Richard Cawley is an authoritative local journalist who runs a South London Sport substack site. He reached out to the club yesterday evening to ask for comment on The Guardian’s article. Early indications from the club have been that nothing has changed since the story about them seeking investment, except that it is now a different company doing it. Charlton have since managed to consolidate their place in the Championship, avoiding an instant return to League One, with their women’s side promoted to the WSL, returning to the top flight for the first time since 2007, although staying there is likely to be costly. It would be counter-intuitive for owners Global Football Partners not to progress the club when looking for investment, that the focus remains on driving it forward, that their spend this summer is in line with long-term planning and will see an increase in wages spent on players...

Hull City's 'strange' loan

When football finance guru Kieran Maguire seems flashing lights in a club's loan deal, I become concerned. He is the leading football finance expert in the UK. Hull City have borrowed £55m against their stadium and training ground yet they should get £30m from the Premier League before long. What is going on? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cpwel48y51do

The Political Economy of Football V2

Search This Blog