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The positive Villareal story offers lessons

The inspiring Swiss Ramble has been working this weekend on the achievements of Villareal  which reveal a record of good financial management that other clubs could learn from. 

Their European achievement

To place their achievement in reaching Champions League semi-finals into perspective, their €124m revenue is far below €164m required to be in the top 30 of the Deloitte Money League. Bayern Munich, who they beat in the quarter-finals, have five times as much with €611m.

Europe is important to the club strategy, as seen in 2020/21, when the Swiss Ramble estimates they earned €32m for winning the Europa League. Still a lot less than the Spanish representatives in the Champions League received, e.g. Real Madrid got more than three times as much with €111m.

They will earn big money from this season’s Champions League. The Swiss Ramble’s model suggests around €78m, though is restricted for two reasons: (a) nothing from first half of TV pool, as qualified via Europa League; (b) low UEFA coefficient (based on last 10 years’ results).

Having only finished 7th in La Liga, they qualified for the Champions League by winning the Europa League.  They were bought in 1997 by Spanish businessman Fernando Roig, who made his fortune in ceramic tiles (plus a stake in a large supermarket chain). However, unlike many others, this is not a story of an owner pumping in money so that the club can buy its way to success.

Compared to the European elite, Villarreal have far fewer financial resources, playing their home games in a stadium with a capacity of only 23,500, though this would hold almost half of the city’s population of just over 50,000.

Roig’s philosophy for Villarreal has been very: “Play good football, invest in youngsters and owe nothing to anyone. We will only spend what we generate.”

A positive profit record

In 2020/21 Villarreal posted a rare pre-tax loss of €17.9m (€14.2m after tax), despite club record revenue of €124m, up €38m (44%) from €86m.  This was mainly due to COVID, which not only hit gate receipts, but also contributed to player sales profit falling from €46m to €12m.

The 2020/21 loss was very much the exception to the rule, as they strive to break-even, having posted profits in five of the last eight years. They generated €16m pre-tax profit over this period, even after last year’s €18m loss, which is pretty good in the football world.

Broadcasting and commercial revenues

The €38m revenue increase was due to broadcasting, which rose €38m (58%) from €67m to €105m, due to Europa League success and games deferred from 2019/20 season. Commercial was up 5% to €17m, while match day dropped €1.5m to €1.9m, as games played without fans.

After many years of individual deals in Spain, La Liga have introduced a collective broadcasting deal. This is based on 50% equal share; 25% performance over last five years and 25% popularity (1/3 for average match day income, 2/3 for number of TV viewers). Gross income reduced by liabilities.

Even after the changes, the big two still receive by far the highest TV income from La Liga’s TV deal. In 2020/21 Barcelona and Real Madrid got around €150m, while Villarreal received less than half as much with €67m, though up €4m compared to previous season.

Despite the pandemic, Villarreal commercial income rose €0.7m (5%) from €16.1m to €16.8m. This is 7th highest in Spain, but the top three clubs are out of sight commercially: Real Madrid €314m, Barcelona €270m and Atletico Madrid €96m.

Comparison with La Liga rivals

Despite the recent increase, Villarreal €74m revenue growth since 2014 is the lowest of all the leading Spanish clubs with the exception of Valencia (only up €20m). The other clubs are all up more than €100m with Atletico Madrid leading the way with €169m growth.

However, Villarreal €124m revenue is now 5th highest in Spain, having overtaken Valencia €108m. That said, they are still miles below Real Madrid €653m, Barcelona €591m and Atletico Madrid €339m, while Sevilla €171m are also a fair bit ahead of them.

Many clubs in La Liga had worse financial results than Villarreal €14m post-tax loss, including Atletico Madrid €112m, Sevilla €41m, Real Betis €37m, Valencia €31m and Athletic Bilbao €25m, while Barcelona €481m deficit was in a league of its own.

COVID also impacted player trading, as it depressed the transfer market. As a result, Villarreal profit on player sales slumped from €46m to €12m, mainly Toko Ekambi to Lyon and Unal to Getafe.  This is far below the likes of Real Madrid €106m, Valencia €49m and Atletico Madrid €38m.

The club’s business model owes a lot to player trading, having made an impressive €192m in the last 8 years. The large €46m gain in 2020 included Pablo Fornals’ big money move to West Ham. Club has a good record of developing Academy players, who they can then sell for profit.

Wages

The wage bill increased by €12m (15%) from €83m to €95m, mainly due to bonuses for winning the Europa League. Grown by €38m (68%) in the last 5 years, but this is much less than Spanish rivals (e.g. Atleti €129m, Barcelona €94m & Real Madrid €91m) except Valencia.

€95m wages are 7th highest in Spain, but very close to Athletic Bilbao €99m and Valencia €97m. However, they are miles below Barcelona €432m, Real Madrid €372m and Atletico Madrid €266m, while Sevilla €133m are also a fair bit higher.

One consequence of Villarreal good financial management is the high salary cap allowed by La Liga’s regulations. In fact, their €159m for 2021/22 is the fourth highest in Spain (up €51m in last 2 years), in stark contrast to Valencia €31m, and also above Barcelona’s €98m.

Following the revenue increase, Villarreal wages to turnover ratio decreased (improved) from 96% to 77%, though the impact of the pandemic meant that this was still quite high compared to most years.  This is mid-table in La Liga, around the same level as Sevilla 78% and Barcelona 73%.

The 15,753 average attendance in 2019/20 (for games played with fans) was firmly in the bottom half of La Liga table. Not only miles below elite Spanish clubs, but also a lot less than others, like Real Betis 48,000, Athletic Bilbao 41,000, Valencia 40,000 and Sevilla 37,000.



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