Experts predict England’s top flight to surpass a combined revenue of £3 billion in 2013/14, while the overall wages-to-revenue ratio increased to a record 71 per cent

Revenue for Premier League clubs reached a record £2.52 billion (€3.1bn) in 2012-13, according to football finance experts at Deloitte.

The revenue generated by teams in England’s top flight far exceeds that of any division in Europe including Germany (€2.1bn), Spain (€1.9bn) and Italy (€1.7bn), although the Bundesliga remains Europe’s most profitable league with operating profits of €278m.

The Premier League follows that with operating profits of £82m (€100m), while 13 teams recorded an operating profit in 2012/13, an increase from 10 in the previous year.

Due to new broadcast deals and enhanced commercial growth, Deloitte estimate that Premier League clubs’ revenue will increase by almost 30 per cent to £3.2bn (€3.9bn) in 2013/14.

Premier League sides continue to spend a high portion of their revenue on wages, which rose by 8 per cent to £1.8bn (€2.2bn), meaning that the overall wages-to-revenue ratio increased to a record 71%.

“The pattern in spending on wages following previous increases in broadcast deals, suggests it’s likely around 60% or more of the revenue increase in 2013/14 will flow through to wages,” said Adam Bull, senior consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

“On that basis, we would expect Premier League total wage costs to reach a new record level of around £2.2bn (€2.7bn). However, given the forecast increase in revenue, this would also return the wages to revenue ratio below 70% for the first time since 2009/10.”

Finances for Championship sides were poor as a revenue reduction of £39m (€48m) was met by a £40m (€50m) increase in wage costs. Operating losses stood at a record £241m (€296m), while pre-tax losses were increased by £170m (€209m).

“The 2012/13 wages to revenue ratio for Championship clubs of 106% is the highest ever recorded by an English division and is clearly unsustainable without ongoing owner support,” said Bull.

“The introduction of the Championship Financial Fair Play Rules was widely seen, and advocated by the clubs who voted it in, as a necessary step to change clubs’ behaviour.

“The severity of the punishments applied to those who have not complied with the rules in the 2013/14 season and the eventual result of efforts to change the rules, will determine the extent to which they present an effective deterrent to widespread overspending.”

Goal looks into the numbers behind the final squad announcements, with the international tournament in Brazil just a week away

The World Cup sees football superstars who play all over the globe gather, but it is the Premier League that hoards the most players while Bayern Munich have sent more to Brazil than any other club.

The English top flight will have 105 of its players lining up in South America this summer – just over 14 per cent of the overall tally.

Five of the top 10 (extended to 11 due to a four-way tie) in our team tally hail from England, with Manchester United’s (14) poor season not seeming to harm their charges’ chances of making the World Cup as they sit second overall. A mixture of Three Lions players and foreign imports help raise Chelsea (12), Arsenal (10), Liverpool (10) and Manchester City (10) up there with the cream of the crop.

Bayern (15) might be the highest club, but the Bundesliga can only reach third in the table of leagues, with the next most populated German squads (Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Schalke) boasting seven players each at the finals.

Italy’s Serie A is in second place with 24 fewer people than the Premier League. Juventus and Napoli will both have 12 players knocking about in the South American nation, contrasting with just the five Roma are sending out there.

Top tiki-taka tally | Over half of Barcelona’s players at the World Cup play for world champions Spain

The World Cup, which kicks off on June 12, will have 62 Primera Division stars, with Barcelona (13) and Real Madrid (12) both packing their international ranks while new champions Atletico Madrid (9) have quite the collection themselves.

Those four leagues all benefit from having a team with a lot of homegrown players in their World Cup squads on top of being huge global forces. The relatively small amount of Portuguese and American talent to have remained in their own country seeking success means their biggest leagues are lower down the table, level in ninth.

France are another example of a nation comprised mostly of those who enjoy football away from Ligue 1, but the division still ranks fifth overall and champions Paris Saint-Germain are joint-eighth in the club list.

Russia are the only team at the World Cup to feature players who ply their trade exclusively in one country, which explains their top flight’s high ranking, while Turkey’s Super Lig bags eighth place despite the national team missing out on qualifying.

Mexico have only eight squad members who have flown the North American nest, bolstering Liga MX’s overall total which is mixed with a scattering of other Spanish-language footballers.

Brazil might be hosting the 2014 tournament but it is unfamiliar to an overwhelming majority of the 736 footballers gathered there – only 11 of them play in the Brasileirao.

With Manchester United targeting several signings, Arsenal aiming to bolster their squad and Liverpool preparing for Champions League football, a busy window is expected

EXCLUSIVE
By Alex Young

Transfer spending is expected to reach a record high this summer as the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United aim to topple their Premier League title rivals, according to Deloitte.

Louis van Gaal will oversee a number of arrivals and departures after finally taking the Old Trafford reins, while Arsene Wenger called for a new era at Arsenal after penning a contract extension.

Alan Switzer, Director of the Sports Business Group, also highlighted the possible exodus of Southampton players to title-chasing sides as key to the Premier League’s continued financial dominance in football.

“We certainly think there will be a record transfer spend in terms of gross. In terms of money leaving the league, it depends on the nature of the transactions,” Switzer, who is also project manager of the Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance, told Goal.

“With Southampton players potentially going to Liverpool for big sums, there is certainly a good chance we will find the gross level will be a record, with money staying within the league and not going abroad.

“The spending will be right down the league as clubs look to compete for the title and European glory, and not forgetting those who will look to consolidate their positions and avoid relegation. Significant sums of money are most likely going to be spent.

“In terms of the year just passed, it is also likely that the gap between the Premier League and their nearest rival, the Bundesliga, will increase. It’s currently €1.8bn (£1.4bn) and approaching €2bn (£1.6bn) so the Premier League clubs have such a financial advantage over their rivals when it comes to buying players from Europe.”

Van Gaal has outlined his shortlist of desired transfer targets, which includes Southampton and England left-back Luke Shaw – with the club offering him a record-breaking contract for a teenager.

With such high spending anticipated this summer, Switzer believes the increased revenue provided to clubs by broadcast deals are making Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations easier to comply with.

The league’s combined revenues exceeded £3 billion last season, just four years since passing £2bn, and Switzler feels the £4bn barrier could be met in just three years’ time – further aiding teams against FFP.

Switzer continued: “The next wave of broadcasting rights have started so revenues will exceed to £3.2bn for the season just past. That, combined with the bigger clubs growing their commercial revenues, clearly helps with the break-even calculation.

“Although, it still stands that clubs must control costs. It’s not a case of reducing costs, but controlling them better so, absolutely, Uefa’s rules are becoming easier to comply with.”

“We are in the first year of the current new broadcasting deal, with two to go, so the next big change in value will be in 2016-17. Will revenue reach [the £4bn] landmark by then? I wouldn’t be surprised. It certainly wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility.

“Football clubs do not necessarily exist to make money – it’s also about success on the pitch – but the [2 per cent profit] margins are too narrow at the moment. We expect the profit margins to jump up significantly when the new TV deals are taken into account.”

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