UEFA Benchmarking report: Premier League clubs lead the way in revenue and profits

The confederation have released their financial figures for 2017, accounting for a variety of subjects including wage growth, club revenue and more

Premier League clubs have led the way for revenue generation according to the UEFA’s annual benchmarking report, with England seeing the highest revenues and profits across Europe.

The UEFA benchmark report is the confederation’s comprehensive look at the financial situation of the league’s of its member associations, along with the clubs in those nations.

The report covers a wide variety of subjects, including transfer activity and value, revenue for clubs and leagues, investment, stadium ownership and more.

And when it comes to revenue, there is no league that earns more than the Premier League taking in €5.3 billion (£4.7b/$6b).

La Liga, at nearly €2.9 billion, is next, followed by Germany at nearly €2.8 billion, then Serie A at approximately €2.2 billion. Ligue 1 rounds out the top five with revenues of €1.6 billion, and is the last of the leagues top top a billion euro in revenue in 2017.

UEFA also released figures regarding club wage bills, revenue, squad expense and club debt. As one might expect, the biggest sides in UEFA feature prominently on these lists, with the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Liverpool all represented as well as clubs like AC Milan.

English clubs in general are to be found often near the top of many of these lists, with clubs in England moving from a net €186m loss in 2016 to a net €549m profit in 217 on the back of their increase in TV revenue.

The report also notes Premier League clubs, in general, pay much higher wages than their counterparts across the top five leagues. For example, the teams in the Premier League ranked five through eight in wages are similar to the clubs ranked one through four in the other top leagues.

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Likewise, teams in the bottom half of the Premier League table spend more in average wages (€98m) than clubs in Europa League places in Germany, Italy and Spain, with the Bundesliga closest (€86m), thanks in large part to the English top-flight’s TV rights revenue.

The report also notes that transfer spending doubled between 2014 and 2017, with the big difference being the amount spent on the transactions, rather than more transfers occurring.

It likely comes as no surprise the top five European leagues are the big drivers of that transfer spending, with English clubs accounting for over a quarter (26 per cent) of global transfer spending over the past decade.

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