The Premier League has a seemingly unassailable position at the top of the football money tree. English top-flight clubs churned out revenues of almost €7.4bn in the 2023-24 season, almost equal to their German and Spanish rivals combined. Italian teams made €2.9bn, with the French at €2.5bn.
That’s feeding through the summer transfer window. Led by
top clubs including Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and
Manchester City, Premier League spending is approaching the €2.5bn mark,
according to Transfermarkt, already clear of last summer.
The problem with being number one is that there’s a target
for everybody else. Competition sometimes means doing what your rivals can’t.
Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A have spotted an
opportunity. Plans are in train for FC Barcelona and Villarreal to play a
domestic league match in Miami, catering to a large Hispanic population, while
Serie A wants to hold a game in Australia.
Villarreal president Fernando Roig said: “We would be the
first European team to play a league match outside our borders. It would help
us greatly to expand the brand in a key market like the United States.”
La Liga boss Javier Tebas has made no secret of his ambition
to take Spain’s best to America. But not everybody is applauding Barcelona and
Villarreal. There has been backlash from fans and rivals like Real Madrid.
The plans are still subject to various layers of regulatory
approval, but the Spanish Football Association gave its blessing earlier this
week. Last month the Italian football authorities gave a similar nod of
approval to a proposed game in Perth next year between AC Milan and Como.
In England, the subject remains taboo and — for now — a
total non-starter. Remember the old proposals for a 39th round of fixtures
abroad? “We did look at the 39th game
way back when, with lots of controversy. I recall that very clearly,” Premier
League chief Richard Masters said this week. “Our objective at the time, when
thinking about it, was to help grow the Premier League around the world.”
Masters remains dead against the idea. His argument is that
the league has already achieved its goals through global broadcast and digital
partnerships, as well as its Summer Series exhibition matches in the US. The
Premier League’s international revenues already well outstrip European rivals.
Its financial dominance is entrenched.
Premier League executives believe that they can keep growing
the competition internationally through new broadcast deals and a digital
revamp.
And there’s a strong argument that the Spanish and Italian
moves are driven by desperation rather than conviction. Both leagues have
previously enjoyed periods of being the world’s most loved football
competition, and yearn for the good old days. Experimenting with risky tent
pole moments overseas is arguably just a shot in the dark as both leagues race
to catch up with the Premier League.
Even so, taking English football overseas is an idea that
will prove hard to kill. Tom Werner, chair of Liverpool owner Fenways Sports
Group, memorably told the FT last year that he was “determined one
day to have a Premier League game be played in New York City”. Other international owners may well feel the
same, especially as they see the NFL, NBA and MLB using live matches to grow
their fan bases in new markets.
If the Spanish and Italian plans come to fruition, and prove
successful, the pressure on the Premier League to follow suit is likely to
grow.
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