Atlético: La Liga's in betweeners

Atlético’s 2023/24 accounts covered a season when they finished fourth in La Liga, their worst position for 12 years, though they did reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, where they were beaten by Athletic Bilbao, and the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they were eliminated by eventual finalists Borussia Dortmund.

It’s fair to say that the club has performed well in the 12 years since Diego Simeone became head coach in December 2011. Atléti have won the league twice during the Argentinian’s tenure, most recently in 2020/21, while finishing runner-up on two other occasions.

In fact, Atlético are the only club that has managed to break up the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona in this period, which is pretty impressive, given the enormous financial advantages enjoyed by Spain’s Big two.   Atlético are stuck in a slightly awkward “inbetweener” position in Spain, as their €395m revenue is miles below the two Spanish giants, Real Madrid €1.1 bln and Barcelona €763m, but at least €220m more than the rest of the league.

The club said that the 2023/24 financial year had been “a generally good one with revenues approaching €400m for the first time in our history”.

Specifically, Atlético’s revenue rose €37m (10%) from €358m to €395m, though other operating income fell €14m (35%) from €39m to €25m, while operating expenses increased by €27m (7%) from €416m to €443m.

In addition, profit from player sales dropped €12m (29%) from €39m to €27m, though exceptional net income from construction services increased by €14m from €4m to €18m and net interest payable fell €2m (29%) from €23m to €21m.

Atlético’s revenue increase was driven by broadcasting, which shot up €38m (21%) from €184m to €222m, though there was also good growth in match day, up €17m (29%) from €59m to €76m. On the other hand, commercial fell €18m (16%) from €115m to €97m.

However, the revenue growth was largely offset by a steep increase in the cost base. Wages rose €23m (9%) from €245m to €268m, while other expenses were up €10m (10%) from €90m to €100m.

Unlike many other leagues, more than half of the clubs in La Liga have reported profits in their latest accounts, though ten of them generated less than €5m with the highest to date last season being Real Madrid’s €20m. In other words, Atlético’s €1m pre-tax profit was in line with the majority of clubs in the league.  In stark contrast, Barcelona’s €129m pre-tax loss was the worst in La Liga in 2023/24, followed by Sevilla €82m and Villarreal €16m.

There has been a clear slow-down in Atlético’s ability to generate big money from player sales since the onset of COVID. In 2018/19 and 2019/20, they averaged a chunky €110m profit, but this has dropped to just €30m over the last four seasons.  Despite the reduction, it is worth noting that Atlético’s had one of the highest profits from player sales in Europe in the five seasons up to 2022/23 with an impressive €324m, though this was a fair way below Chelsea €481m and Real Madrid €439m.

According to the Money League, Atlético Madrid have the 12th highest revenue in the world, climbing three places from the previous season’s 15th. it should be recognised that they have come a long way, given that they were as low as 23rd as recently as 2011/12.

The gap with Real

If we compare Atlético with Real Madrid, they earn a lot less in all three revenue streams, though the major differentiator is in commercial, where their €117m is less than a quarter of their city rivals’ €482m.   In fact, the €636m gap between Real Madrid and Atlético is the highest difference between first and third ranked clubs in a country, even more than the €542m in France and €520m in Germany. The gaps in England and especially Italy are considerably smaller.

Atlético have earned €410m from European competition in the last five years, which is only €15m less than Barcelona’s €425m, but a hefty €171m behind Real Madrid’s €581m.    Nevertheless, Europe is a key element in Atlético’s business model, so their feat of qualifying for the Champions League 12 years in a row is not only impressive, but also important,

Even after last season’s large increase, Atlético’s €76m match day income was still a lot less than Real Madrid €320m and Barcelona €116m, but it was more than twice as much as Athletic Bilbao’s €33m.

Like almost all La Liga clubs, Atlético’s domestic TV money has been reduced after the league signed a deal with CVC, whereby the private equity firm provided €2 bln of funding in return for around 8% of TV rights for the next 50 years. Only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao opted out of this arrangement.

Their €97m commercial income is only around a quarter of Real Madrid’s €407m and Barcelona’s €374m.  On the other hand, it is more than three times as much as the likes of Real Betis €30m, Sevilla €24m, Athletic Bilbao €24m and Valencia €23m.

Atlético’s average attendance increased from 55,800 to 59,121, so is up nearly 15,000 since the move to the new stadium.  This 59,121 was the second highest in Spain, though a fair way behind Real Madrid 72,061. However, the ranking is only temporary, as Barcelona’s relatively low 40,700 was because of the smaller capacity at the Olympic Stadium.  That said, Atlético’s broke their attendance record with 69,196 spectators at the Champions League last 16 tie against Inter. In fact, 70% of the season’s matches attracted more than 60,000 fans.

Atlético’s wages rose €23m (9%) from €245m to €268m, including higher performance-related bonuses. This was a new club record, overtaking the previous €254m peak, while also breaking out of a fairly narrow range over the previous five years.

Atlético’s gross financial debt slightly decreased from €446m to €429m, though this has still nearly doubled from €218m four years ago. The club said that this increase was related to funds required for the construction of the Metropolitano stadium, as well as investment in the squad. Indeed, debt was as low as €70m as recently as 2015.

Atlético’s €429m is the sixth highest debt among the European elite, also behind Tottenham €990m, Manchester United €636m and Olympique Lyonnais €497m. With the exception of United, all of the top six have taken out substantial debt to finance stadium development.

Atlético have received a couple of sizeable capital injections from their owners in recent years with €120m in 2021 and €70m in July 2024, the latter coming one month after the period covered by the 2023/24 accounts. In addition, there has been some talk of Atléti considering another €70m capital increase.

The club has two main shareholders: Atlético HoldCo with 70.4% and Israeli company Quantum Pacific Management Limited with 27.8%.  However, it is worth noting that American investment company Ares Management Corporation hold a 34% stake in Atlético HoldCo, having also invested in Chelsea, Olympique Lyonnais and Inter Miami. The remaining 66% is controlled by Atlético chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin and club president Enrique Cerezo.  There have been some noises around Saudi Arabia’s PIF being interested in a possible acquisition of the club, though nothing concrete as yet.

Atlético have competed well with Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent years, despite being miles behind the Big Two financially, though by the same token they do enjoy considerable financial advantages over every other club in La Liga.

The lack of investment in the squad hurt them last season, when they dropped to fourth place in La Liga, which was their worst finish for many years, thus helping to explain their substantial transfer spend last summer.

Atlético have managed to generate (small) profits in the last couple of years, which is a rare feat in the world of football, though this did rely on player sales and exceptional once-off items. That said, they did achieve good revenue growth last season, while forecasting a further increase in 2024/25.