Whether the concept of the 'Big Six' in the Premier League is quite what it was with the financial boost at Newcastle is an open question, but anyway here are some comparisons over the last five years from the Swiss Ramble.
Manchester in the lead
The Big Six Premier League clubs had a total of £18.2 bn of
available funds in the last five years. Manchester City led the way with £3.4
bln, closely followed by Manchester United £3.3 bln. There were three other
clubs around the £3 bln level, but there was then a big gap to Arsenal, who
lagged the others with “only” £2.5 bn.
Manchester United generated the most revenue in the last
five years with £2.8 bn. They were just ahead of Manchester City £2.7 bn, even
though they were overtaken by their rivals in the last two seasons.
Four clubs increased their revenue by more than £100m in the
last five years with the largest growth at Liverpool, whose income rose £230m
(nearly two-thirds) from £364m to £594m. Manchester United’s revenue was
basically flat, while Arsenal’s fell £54m (13%) from £423m to £369m.
Manchester United generated the highest match day income of
£428m, a fair way ahead of Arsenal £357m and Tottenham £355m. Manchester City’s
£208m gate receipts were less than half of their local rivals.
Tottenham’s new stadium has allowed them to close the gap to
Manchester United to just £4m in 2021/22, having been £69m ten years ago.
Spurs likely to top
revenue chart
The chances are that Spurs match day revenue will be the
highest in the Premier League when 2022/23 accounts are published, as they were
playing in the Champions League, where they will receive much higher gate
receipts, compared to the previous year’s sparsely attended Europe Conference
matches.
The importance of the Champions League to English clubs’
business model is underlined by Arsenal’s relatively low £812m broadcasting
revenue, as the Gunners did not qualify for UEFA’s leading tournament once in
this period.
As a result, their income fell £53m (27%) from £199m to
£146m. Furthermore, their £44m advantage over Liverpool in 2016/17 turned into
a £115m deficit in 2021/22, a swing of £159m.
Manchester United had the highest commercial revenue of £1.3
bln in the last five years, but this was only thanks to starting from a high
base, as the annual income actually dropped £18m (6%) from £276m to £258m.
Manchester City were only £33m below United over the five
years, but have leapfrogged them in the last two seasons. City were one of
three clubs to enjoy commercial growth of around £100m, though Arsenal only
increased by £20m.
Player sales
Two clubs in particular made a lot of money from player
sales, namely Chelsea £541m and Manchester City £445m, followed by Liverpool
£318m. In contrast, there were much lower amounts at Arsenal £249m, Tottenham
£198m and Manchester United £195m.
Three clubs received owner funding in the form of share
capital injections: Chelsea £211m, Tottenham £97m and Manchester City £81m.
This is the best form of owner financing for a football club, as it will never
need to be repaid.
Four of the Big Six spent between £1.5 bn and £1.6 bln on
wages in the last five years. Manchester City led the way with £1,635m, very
slightly ahead of Manchester United £1,619m, closely followed by Liverpool
£1,580m and then Chelsea £1,486m. There
is then a sizeable gap to Arsenal £1,130m and particularly Tottenham £922m.
Net transfer spend (in cash terms) for the Big Six was £2.3
bn in the last five years (purchases £4.3 bln less £2.0 bln). The highest by
some distance was Manchester United £612m, followed by Manchester City £497m
and Chelsea £376m. Arsenal’s activity
in the transfer market has really ramped up recently, so much so that their
£336m net spend was actually higher than Liverpool £318m. Tottenham were miles
below the others at just £179m.
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