During the past few days, we have been enjoying the world gymnastics championship well staged in an impressive arena in Rotterdam. In this posting the focus is on the port city’s football club.
From his fastness in Zurich, the Swiss Ramble has been
casting his usual forensic eye over the 2025/26 accounts from Feyenoord. Here are his key findings.
Feyenoord had a “challenging” season off the pitch, as they
swung from a €31.1m pre-tax profit to €17.0m loss, a sizeable year-on-year
deterioration of €48.1m. Revenue dropped
by nearly a third, falling €51.5m from €166.7m to €115.2m, but costs remained
at virtually the same level, so this all fed through to a much larger operating
loss, which widened from €28.8m to €78.9m.
This was partially offset by €62.6m profit on player sales,
up €2.2m from the previous year’s €60.3m.
The net loss after tax was lower at €12.6m, thanks to a €4.4m tax
credit.
The main reason for the revenue decrease was significantly
lower income from European competition, mainly prize money, but also a sizeable
chunk of gate receipts. In total, this fell €55.1m (71%) from €77.8m to €22.7m.
Feyenoord’s revenue has consistently been lower than their
main rivals Ajax and PSV, so the only time that they were ahead of both clubs
in the last 10 years was back in 2017/18.
Last season the gap to Ajax was a chunky €73m, while they have never
been so far behind PSV with the deficit up to €43m.
Feyenoord’s €17.0m is the largest pre-tax loss in the
Eredivisie by some distance, based on the latest available accounts, as the
next highest was Fortuna Sittard with just €4.1m. To illustrate just how much of an outlier
Feyenoord’s result was, no fewer than 11 of the 18 clubs in the Dutch top
flight posted a profit, led by AZ €16.6m, Twente €9.4m and PSV Eindhoven €9.0m.
Indeed, only three clubs lost more than €500k.
Dutch clubs basically look to offset large operating losses
with profits from player sales. In this way, Feyenoord’s substantial €170m
operating loss in the last four years was more than compensated by €210m profit
from player trading.
Feyenoord’s broadcasting revenue significantly decreased by
€46.9m (63%) from €73.9m to €27.0m, highlighting the difference between playing
in the Champions League and the Europa League.
If anyone is in any doubt about why so many players make the
move from the Eredivisie to England, just take a look at the relative size of
the TV deals, where the Premier League’s €4.5 bln is an incredible 28 times as
much as the Eredivisie.
Feyenoord’s average attendance was 47,500 in 2025/26, which
was the second highest in the Eredivisie, only surpassed by Ajax 53,531.
Stadium
After these accounts, Feyenoord announced that the
“long-cherished wish” of bringing together club and stadium had been approved,
as the club acquired a 95% stake in Stadion Feijenoord, facilitated by issuing
80,635 new shares. In recent years, the
condition of De Kuip has deteriorated due to deferred maintenance and the
financial challenges faced by Stadion Feijenoord.
However, the club has committed to invest has committed to
invest €41.5m in much needed improvements, as it now clear that Feyenoord will
continue to play there for the foreseeable future, That said, the integration will give
Feyenoord the opportunity to generate more revenue, particularly in corporate
hospitality.
Feyenoord had been working on ambitious plans for a new
stadium with a 63,000 capacity, but that project has been abandoned for the
time being, due to soaring costs, exacerbated by higher interest rates.
Despite the significant reduction in revenue, Feyenoord’s
wage bill only fell €1.1m (1%) from €84.2m to €83.1m. wages have more than doubled in the
last five years from just €37.3m in 2020/21. Before that it had been stuck in
the €35-39m range over the previous five years.
Debt has grown by around €20m in the last three years, as it
was only €8.5m in 2023.
There is no doubt that Feyenoord’s financial result last
season was not great, as they posted a sizeable loss, despite generating a
hefty €63m profit from player sales. This once again highlighted the importance
of qualifying for the Champions League.
Revenue will be considerably higher this season after the
return to the Champions League, though the net result will also be influenced
by player sales, which are on the low side to date. It would therefore be no
surprise if more business is done, either in the January window or before the
end of June 2027.
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