RC Lens have qualified for the Champions League. There was
much financial uncertainty under the former owner, Azerbaijani businessman
Hafiz Mammadov, culminating in Lens not providing a sufficient bank guarantee
in 2014. As a result, the French football authorities effectively cancelled
that season’s promotion from Ligue 2, though the debate took a while to reach a
conclusion, so this was only effected via a forced relegation at the end of
2014/15.
Things look a lot better for Lens under the current owner,
Joseph Oughourlian, who bought the club in 2016, before becoming president in
2018. During his tenure, Lens first won promotion to Ligue 1 in 2020, then
finished in an impressive 7th place in both their first two seasons back in the
top flight, before securing a place in the lucrative Champions League.
That’s a notable achievement, but what is even more striking
is that they have managed to do this without spending huge amounts, as can be
seen by reviewing Lens’ financials.
In 2021/22 Lens swung from a €24m pre-tax loss to a €2m
profit, the first time that the club had been in the black for six years.
Revenue rose €14m (42%) from €33m to €47m, while profit from player sales shot
up €23m from €2m to €25m.
Lens’ €2m profit was actually one of the better financial
results in Ligue 1, though a fair way below the profits at Lille €23m, Brest
€14m and Angers €10m.
The Lens bottom line was boosted by €25m profit from player
sales, significantly higher than prior year’s €2m, which was mainly thanks to
the transfer of Loic Badé to Rennes.
Lens have made a decent amount of money from player sales,
though the €25m generated in 2021/22 was easily a club record. However, that is
likely to be surpassed this season, largely due to the Doucouré deal with
Crystal Palace, but also a fair number of other sales, which should add up to
more than €50m.
Lens’ revenue has more than tripled since promotion two
years ago from €15m to €47m. That’s already impressive, but there will be
another step change next season after qualifying for UEFA’s premier tournament. Broadcasting was the most important revenue
stream with 44% of total revenue, followed by commercial 37% and gate receipts
20%.
Even after the recent growth, Lens’ €47m revenue was still
in the lower half of Ligue 1. PSG’s €670m was around 14 times as much, while
Marseille’s €238m was nearly €200m higher. Lyon €160m and Lille €148m were both
over €100m more. In short, Lens have
massively outperformed, punching well above their weight. To further place Lens’ revenue into
perspective for English fans, their revenue was nearly €100m less than the club
with the lowest revenue in the Premier League, namely Burnley €145m.
Lens’ wage bill rose €3.3m (10%) from €34.7m to €38.0m, the
club’s highest for 11 years (since the €39.7m in 2011). This means that wages
have nearly doubled since promotion from Ligue 2, up from €19.7m.
Lens total gross transferspend over the last six years was
still only €89m, which is around a tenth of PSG, whose €896m has not delivered
such great value for money. Although the Parisians are a massive outlier, Lens
have still been substantially outspent by their other rivals in this period:
Monaco €610m, Rennes €363m, Marseille €342m, Lyon €323m, Lille €276m and Nice
€275m.
Lens’ accomplishment in qualifying for the Champions League is to be applauded, especially as they achieved this in such fine style. Doing this on a very low budget makes it even sweeter, though the hard work will continue, as Lens will no longer be a surprise package next season. They will also face the tricky challenge of hanging on to their talent, as bigger clubs look to flex their financial muscles.
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