The Political Economy of Football V2

Real Madrid are stepping up plans towards a radical change in their ownership structure — one that would allow external investors to purchase stakes in the club for the very first time. Madrid have been owned by their  socios  (club members) since being founded in 1902 and any adjustments to that model would require them to approve it in a vote. Only three other clubs have the same structure in Spanish football — Athletic Club, Osasuna and Barcelona. Madrid are the only club in world football to have recorded revenues over €1billion (£870million; $1.2bn), a total reached over the 2023-24 season according to a Deloitte report (€1.045.5bn was the exact figure). Despite this, Madrid’s president, Florentino Perez, has spoken about how being owned by members holds them back in certain ways, especially when competing in the transfer market with rival clubs backed by billionaires or sovereign wealth funds. Madrid’s president is now set to present new details and further plans...

Real Madrid became the first football club to generate over €1 billion in revenue during the 2023/24 season and are at the top of the 2025 Deloitte Money League. The completion of renovations works to the Bernabéu Stadium catalysed the growth of matchday revenues to €248m in 2023/24, a 103% uplift on the previous year. The increase was realised predominantly on account of the marketing of Personal Seat Licenses 1 , which provided an uplift of c.€76m, as well as the sale of new VIP seats and the increased capacity of the stadium from December 2023. The club also reported a 20% increase in commercial revenue (from €403m to €482m), boosted by increased merchandise and new sleeve sponsorship.  Manchester City remained the highest revenue generating English club, with revenue of €838m. The gap between the top-two Money League clubs in 2023/24 was €208m, the highest on record (previous record: €84m in 2018/19).  Several clubs identified the impact of infrastructure investments a...