The Political Economy of Football V2

From his Zurich base the authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews how clubs have done so far in this season’s Uefa competitions.   Much more detail about clubs and calculations can be found on his Substack page. Eight of the top ten in money terms also featured in the top ten of the Deloitte Money League, while another one (Inter) was 11th in the so-called “Rich List”.   The only club that spoiled the strong correlation between money and success on the downside was Manchester United, which highlights the extent of the mismanagement at Old Trafford. His calculations suggest that five clubs have already received more than €90m from the Champions League, namely Bayern Munich €100m, Manchester City €97m, Liverpool €97m, Arsenal €96m and Chelsea €92m.   They are closely followed by Barcelona €89m, Tottenham €84m, Paris Saint-Germain €82m and Real Madrid €81m. Revenue available for distribution in the Europa League is less than a quarter of the Champions League, which has ...

Crystal Palace had lost their appeal to the Court for Arbitration in Sport in Lausanne against demotion from the Europa League:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c1kzzpp04kgo I am yet to read the judgment, but it is what I expected.   This is about the letter of the law rather than justice and fairness. The summary of the decision states: 'The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed an appeal by Crystal Palace FC (CPFC) against UEFA, Nottingham Forest FC and Olympique Lyonnais (OL) concerning a decision by UEFA to remove CPFC from the UEFA Europa League 2025/2026 due to a breach of UEFA multi club ownership regulations. As a result, CPFC will be admitted to compete in the UEFA Conference League 2025/2026. The appeal sought to annul the decision by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body on 11 July 2025 which found CPFC and OL non-compliant with multi club ownership regulations.   Alongside the annulment of the decision, CPFC requested readmis...

Crystal Palace have lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against their demotion to the Conference League. A UEFA panel earlier this month recommended that Palace were denied entry to the Europa League, in which they qualified by winning the FA Cup last season, after it found the Premier League side and Ligue 1’s Lyon breached the governing body of European football’s multi-club ownership rules. CAS said Palace’s case “will be an expedited procedure with an operative decision (without grounds) to be rendered on or before 11 August 2025.” However, the qualifying play-off draw for the Conference League, which will include the English participant, takes place a week earlier on August 4. Palace chairman Steve Parish has suggested Forest had played a significant role in the club’s swapping European competitions. “We’re led to believe that’s the issue,” Parish said. “If there wasn’t someone who wanted to get in as a consequence, then there wouldn’t be ...

Crystal Palace being denied entry to this coming season’s Europa League is a “terrible injustice” and a “bad day for football”, the club’s chairman Steve Parish has said. A UEFA panel has recommended that Palace are denied entry to the competition after it found that the club breached the governing body’s rules on multi-club ownership. The south London club are now set to compete in the third-tier Conference League but intend to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League and originally qualified for the Conference League, could now replace them in the Europa League. UEFA’s rules state that no individual or legal entity can have “control or influence” over more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition, and European football’s governing body must be satisfied that the respective clubs are separate entities to maintain their tournaments’ integrity. Palace’s issue stems from Eagle Footba...

Lyon will remain in Ligue 1 next season after winning their appeal over the relegation imposed upon them by the body which oversees the finances of French football teams, the club confirmed in a statement. The decision means Lyon will maintain their top-flight status, which they have retained since the 1988-89 season. Lyon finished the 2024-25 Ligue 1 campaign in sixth, making the Europa League alongside fifth-place Lille. Their qualification raised uncertainty over Palace’s participation in the European competition next season following their maiden FA Cup triumph, due to multi-club ownership rules — relating to Textor’s Eagle Football’s involvement in both clubs — and Lyon’s superior league placement giving them priority in participating. UEFA had postponed its decision on Palace’s place in the Europa League until after the decision on Lyon’s relegation and there has been no update yet from European football’s governing body. If Palace are barred from the competition, Notting...

The continuing saga of the club's possible exclusion from the Europa League is understandably causing frustration at Crytsal Palace and the club is considering legal action should they be relegated to the Conference League:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c1jww1d3510o The latest delay is caused by Lyon's appeal against their relegation to Ligue 2, Crystal Palace have provided evidence to Uefa aimed at proving that their co-owner John Textor played no role in the appointment of their manager, Oliver Glasner. Textor’s stake in Palace, which was owned via his company, Eagle Football Holdings, and is now the subject of a £160million sale to the US billionaire Woody Johnson, is at the centre of an issue that could yet mean the FA Cup winners are unable to play in the Europa League next season. The extent of Textor’s involvement at Selhurst Park, when he also owned the French club Lyon, is central to Uefa’s concerns and the American businessman is on record talking...

The ongoing threat to Crystal Palace’s participation in the Europa League next season may have evaporated after Lyon, the French side which had been part of the same multi-club ownership model, were relegated to Ligue 2 because of serious financial issues. It was the fact that 43 per cent of Palace belonged to Eagle Football Holdings, a company run by US businessman John Textor and also the owners of Lyon, that amounted to a breach of Uefa competition rules. Even after it was announced on Monday that Textor had agreed the sale of his stake to American billionaire Woody Johnson, it became clear that Palace’s participation remained under threat because Uefa’s rules do not appear to allow for any flexibility for ownership changes after the March 1 deadline. But the news of Lyon’s relegation, announced on Tuesday night, should now resolve the situation unless the French club can respond with a successful appeal. With demotion to the second tier, their sixth-place finish in L...

Normally reliable French sources are reporting that John Textor sold his 45 per cent stake in Cryst al Palace yesterday, clearing the way for the Eagles to claim their place in the Europa League:  https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2025/lyon-owner-john-textor-completes-sale-of-his-45-share-of-crystal-palace/

Crystal Palace have been asked by Uefa for more information about their ownership structure in a move that leaves the Premier League club more confident they will play in Europe next season. The decision over whether Palace can remain in the Europa League is likely to come down to whether UEFA believe that Textor has the capacity to exercise a decisive influence in the club’s decision-making. Palace would argue that they don’t really operate as part of a multi-club ownership model, but simply have a significant shareholder, who happens to have stakes in other clubs. Given the lack of genuine “decisive influence” that John Textor is able to apply at Crystal Palace, any punishment that banned them from the Europa League would seem to be wildly disproportionate. There are very good reasons why UEFA have implemented regulations to curb the excesses of multi-club ownership, but they surely weren’t designed to tarnish a fabulous story like Palace’s FA Cup win. If the issue is simpl...

Nottingham Forest have written to Uefa with their concerns about Crystal Palace participating in the Europa League when they could be in breach of multi-club ownership rules. Palace met Uefa officials last week in a bid to avoid exclusion from the competition because John Textor, the American businessman who has a 43 per cent stake in the club, also owns Lyon, who have qualified for the competition too. Uefa is looking to rule on the matter by the end of this month. But The Times understands that Forest, who would be promoted from the Conference League to the Europa League should Palace be deemed non-compliant with multi-club ownership rules, have been in correspondence with Uefa on the matter. Palace’s Europa League place could yet hinge on whether Uefa decides to allow Lyon to take part in the competition next season.   Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) disqualified Lyon from European competitions in December but allowed them to continue after the club met certain d...

The authoritative Swiss Ramble reviews earnings from the various Uefa competitions. As you would expect, the two Champions League finalists earned the most: PSG received a hefty €145m, which is a new record for UEFA club competitions, while Inter’s pain from their paddling would have been slightly eased by €134m. Five other clubs trousered more than €100m, namely Barcelona €118m, Arsenal €118m, Bayern Munich €106m, Real Madrid €105m and Borussia Dortmund €101m, while Liverpool were just shy of three figures with €98m. Similarly, the two Europa League finalists earned the most in that competition, as Tottenham received €41m, as Big Ange continued his habit of winning a trophy in his second season at a club, while Manchester United got €36m as runners-up.   Income was even lower in the Conference League. Chelsea might have completed a clean sweep of European trophies, but their feat was only worth €22m this season, while Real Betis got €17m for reaching the final. Tottenham’s...

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Monaco-based billionaire behind chemicals empire Ineos has been fighting twin problems in business and sport. Ineos has struggled with a sector-wide downturn, linked to the faltering health of the global economy and international energy prices. And Manchester United, the football club that boyhood fan Ratcliffe bought a huge stake in last year, sits in 16th place in the Premier League as this season wraps up, two spots above relegation. It’s on course for its worst finish since 1975. Despite all that, Ratcliffe’s United has a shot at making it to Europe’s top football competition if it beats Tottenham Hotspur this evening. Win the Europa League final on Wednesday and United will qualify for the Champions League. A victory would salvage what has been a disappointing first season of ownership.   Ratcliffe joined a club struggling to recover its mojo and promised a revival. That hasn’t materialised so far. The club’s troubles on the pitch have been compoun...

Being in the Champions League is an increasing differentiator between clubs, but those clubs who have been leading ones for some time earn more.   The Uefa coefficient is less of a factor that when Arsene Wenger liked to parade it around Islington, but Arsenal still stand to do well. Arsenal’s prize money and bonuses from the Champions League this season will top £100million should they overcome Real Madrid in the quarter-finals as the club seek to benefit from Uefa’s new distribution model. As well as changing the format of its elite club competition, Uefa has changed its revenue distribution system so that there are more financial rewards for performance during the season, rather than for historical success. It also shows why, financially at least, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur should make winning the Europa League and qualifying for next season’s Champions League their priority. The pot of money for the Champions League has rise...

No Champions League football damages Manchester United commercially, not only making the club a less attractive prospect to potential sponsors but also allowing existing partners to claw money back. During the summer of 2023, United renewed their partnership with kit supplier Adidas until 2035 in a deal worth £90m ($114.3m) per year. As part of the extension, a £10m deduction can be made in every season that United do not qualify for the Champions League. This season is still in progress, but so far, without Champions League football, United’s total broadcasting revenues have fallen by more than a third — from £145.7m to £92.9m — in the first half of the campaign compared to the same period last year. Winning the Europa League would bring a welcome financial boost in itself, but there is significantly less prize money on offer when competing in European football’s second-tier club competition. United have already earned at least €12.2m from their Europa League run so far through ...

The revenue available for distribution to Europa League clubs has increased by 22% (€100m) from €465m to €565m, which is good going at any time, but especially when domestic broadcasting deals are struggling to deliver any growth or are even falling in value. Again like the Champions League, the distribution mechanism has been amended, as two of the previous elements, namely the TV pool and UEFA coefficient, have been combined into a new “value pillar”.    The maximum amount a club could earn in prize money, including the participation fee, has increased by €9.3m (40%) from €23.4m to €32.7m. Calculations by the Swiss Ramble suggest that five clubs have already received more than €20m from this season’s Europa League with English clubs filling two of the top three places: Manchester United are first with €22.7m, while Tottenham are third with €21.7m. The country that has earned most to date from the Champions League is England with €44.4m, ahead of Netherlands €42.4m, fol...

The format of UEFA’s competitions will change next season with more teams taking part and more games being played.   The new distribution formula is complex and not easy to understand, but it does look like another case of ‘to him who hath shall be given’. One very important point is the quiet revolution in the distribution mechanism, as two of the previous elements, namely the TV pool and UEFA coefficient, have been combined into a new “value pillar”. The maximum amount a club could earn in prize money in the Europa Lague, including the participation fee, has increased by €9m (40%) from €24m to €33m. Basically, if a team wants to earn good money in this competition, it needs to go deep, as the money earned in the latter stages is quite high. In the Conference The maximum amount a club could earn in prize money, including the participation fee, has increased by €3m (20%) from €16m to €19m Before we estimate what could be earned by a club next season, let’s remind ourse...

UEFA’s final distribution figures for club tournaments last season show that The Premier League had comfortably the highest TV money in total with €461m, a long way ahead of the Bundesliga €401m, followed by Serie A €393m. Possibly a surprise to some, La Liga were only fourth highest with €376m after a fairly ordinary season by its high standards, but they still earned nearly twice as much as Ligue 1 €201m.  Portugal’s Primeira Liga earnings of €177m were higher than Ligue 1’s €153m. While it was a relatively poor season for Spanish clubs on the pitch, their excellent record in Europe meant that they enjoyed the highest UEFA coefficient payment of €134m, well ahead of the Premier League €116m, the Bundesliga €103m and Serie A €91m. Five clubs earned more than €100m in UEFA TV money last season, Champions League winners Manchester City €135m, followed by Real Madrid €119m, Bayern Munich €108m, PSG €101m and Inter €101m.    There is then a big drop to Benfica €74m, Ajax...

Celtic have earned €36.1m from the Champions League, which is much more than Rangers’ €20.2m in the Europa League and Aberdeen’s €4.8m in the Europa Conference. This is despite the fact that Celtic finished bottom of their group, while Rangers came first in their group, thus proceeding to the last 16. Celtic were Scotland’s sole representative in the Champions League group stage this season, earning €36.1m, which was made up of €15.6m participation fee, €4.0m prize money, €10.2m UEFA coefficient payment and €6.2m TV pool.   In other words, nearly half of their income is just for making it to the group stage, i.e. in the shape of the €15.6m participation fee. Rangers’ overall UEFA ranking was a bit behind Celtic’s at 58th, but their UEFA coefficient payment in the Europa League was much smaller.   Rangers will have a better coefficient next season, as they will drop a season without any ranking points, possibly overtaking Celtic. Rangers have earned €20.2m, including €5.0...

How do the teams in the Uefa competition finals compare financially? Manchester City are much stronger than Inter financially, as their £619m revenue is over twice as much as Inter’s £261m. This is also the case with squad cost, as City’s £1.1 bln is significantly higher than Inter’s £505m.   The difference in wages is smaller, but City’s £354m is still nearly 70% (£144m) more than Inter’s £210m. The finalists in the Europa League are much closer from a financial perspective. Roma’s £166m revenue is slightly higher than Sevilla’s £158m, while the Italians’ £155m wage bill is around 15% more than the Spaniards’ £133m.   There is only a meaningful difference with the squad cost, where Roma’s £302m is 40% (£86m) higher than Sevilla’s £216m. As might be expected, given that one club is from the minted Premier League, there is a much wider financial disparity between the two finalists in the Europa Conference League.West Ham’s £255m revenue is a hefty £155m more than Fiorentina...

All four of England’s clubs in the Champions League got to the last 16 at least. Manchester City have gone all the way to the final, so lead the way with €127m, which is also the highest in Europe, followed by Chelsea, who earned €94m after making the quarter-finals. Despite being eliminated in the last 16, Liverpool and Tottenham received €82m and €64m respectively. Manchester City have earned the highest prize money to date of €62.2m, including €14.0m from the group stage, €9.6m for reaching the last 16, €10.6m for the quarter-final, €12.5m for the semi-final and €15.5m for the final. Liverpool’s prize money was boosted by winning five games in the group, which was worth €14.0m (€2.8m for each win), plus €1.1m for their share of money left on the table after draws in the group stage. The coefficient payment is based on performances in UEFA tournaments over the past 10 years, including a bonus for winning a European trophy. Chelsea were the highest ranked English club, as the ...