The financial results of the 2016/17 football season are the most impressive ever recorded in our Annual Review of Football Finance, with the 27th edition reflecting a new era of improved profitability and financial stability for football clubs.

1. Roar power
Annual Review of Football
Finance 2018
Sports Business Group
June 2018

2. The financial results for the 2016/17
season may well be viewed in the future
as the defining moment in the delivery
of sustained profitability by football clubs
competing in the Premier League.

3. Annual Review of Football Finance 2018 | Europe’s premier leagues
Europe’s premier leagues
Revenue growth continued apace
across the ‘big five’ European leagues,
with the Premier League once again
leading the pack.
La Liga is now
the second highest
revenue-generating
league in the world
‘Big five’ European league clubs’ revenue – 2016/17 (€m)
4,000
3,000
2,000
0
1,000
5,000
6,000
England
1,643
2,075
GermanySpain Italy France
265
35,838
96%
143
27,630
71%
Average revenue per club (€m)
Average match attendance
155
40,693
91%
104
21,262
52%
82
21,078
67%
Stadium utilisation
345
21%
297
18%
819
50%
182
11%
2,854
826
29%
1,484
52%
544
19%
614
30%
1,244
60%
217
10%
5,297
1,358
26%
3,221
61%
718
13%
2,793
960
34%
475
17%
854
31%
504
18%
Matchday
Broadcasting
Sponsorship/Commercial
Other commercial
Note: Commercial revenue is not
disaggregated into ‘sponsorship’
and ‘other commercial’ for clubs in
England, Spain and Italy.
Source: Leagues; Deloitte analysis.
2nd

4. Annual Review of Football Finance 2018 | Premier League clubs
Premier League clubs
Commercial
Broadcasting
Matchday
Source: Deloitte analysis.
Premier League clubs’ revenue grew by 25%
to a record £4.5 billion in 2016/17 as every
one of the 20 Premier League clubs set their
own personal annual revenue record.
Premier League clubs’ revenues 2014/15-2018/19 (£m)
4,000
3,000
2,000
0
1,000
5,000
6,000
2018/192017/182016/172015/162014/15
3,350
3,639
4,552
4,780
5,000
168 182 228 239 250
Average revenue per club
Projected
987
29%
1,780
53%
583
18%
1,090
30%
1,927
53%
622
17%
1,167
26%
2,768
61%
617
13%
1,280
27%
1,380
28%
2,850
60%
2,950
59%
650
13%
670
13%
For the first time,
no Premier League
club reported an
operating loss in
2016/17

5. Annual Review of Football Finance 2018 | Premier League clubs
Premier League clubs
Premier League clubs’ wage costs
increased to a record £2.5 billion
in 2016/17, yet the wages/revenue
ratio fell to just 55%, its lowest level
since 1997/98.
Premier League clubs’ revenues and wage costs – 2016/17 (£m)
Note: The 2016/17 financial statements for Crystal Palace were
unavailable at the time of publication. Manchester City figures
are for a 13 month reporting period. AFC Bournemouth
figures are for an 11 month reporting period.
Source: Deloitte analysis.
Revenue Wage costs
400
300
200
0
100
500
600
581
476
419
368 365
306
234 228
185 182 171
138 136 136 128 126 122 122 122 117
45% 55% 47% 60% 57% 42% 48% 55% 51% 62% 61% 57% 53% 62% 77% 67% 62% 50% 53% 52%
263 264
199
221
208
127
113 124
95
112 105
79 72
85 99
84 76
61 65 61
ManUtd
Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool
TottenhamHotspur
Average
Everton
LeicesterCity
WestHamUnited
HullCity
Sunderland
Watford
AFCBournemouth
Southampton
Burnley
SwanseaCity
Middlesbrough
ManCity
WestBromwichAlbion
StokeCity
Wages/revenue ratio
Contributed by English
professional football
to Government in
taxes in 2016/17
£1.9 billion

6. Annual Review of Football Finance 2018 | Football League clubs
Football League clubs
Championship clubs generated record
revenues in 2016/17, yet the desire of clubs
to benefit from the potential financial
windfall of promotion remains unwavering.
Fulham’s play-off final win
in 2017/18 will result in an
uplift in revenue of at least
Football League clubs’ revenues and wage costs – 2015/16 and 2016/17 (£m)
400
300
200
0
100
700
800
600
500
Championship
15/16
100%
23.1
555
553
16/17 15/16
99%
29.7
83%
4.7
720
712
League 1
136
113
16/17
84%
5.1
70%
2.5
146
123
League 2
15/16
86
60
71%
2.7
16/17
91
65
Source: Deloitte analysis.
Revenue
Wage costs
Wages/revenue ratio
Average wage costs
per club
£170m

7. Annual Review of Football Finance 2018 | Player transfers
Player transfers
Record transfer expenditure by Premier
League clubs in 2016/17 was followed up
by a new high of £1.9 billion in 2017/18,
as some clubs reinvested their significant
revenue increases in player transfers.
We may see similar levels
of spending in the coming
year with the FIFA World
Cup providing the perfect
shop window for talent
Premier League and Football League clubs’ player transfer payments – 2016/17 (£m)
Premier League clubs
Within PL clubs
£392m
Premier League total
£1,599m
Non-English
clubs
Football League
clubs
Within FL clubs
£104m
Football League total
£328m
Agents
£80m
£36m
£174m
£46m
£98m
£139m
£369m
£894m
Note: Arrows represent the flow
of transfer payments, with players
moving in the opposite direction.
The estimated fees in respect of the
transfer of player registrations refer
to amounts committed in 2016/17,
rather than actual cashflows. The
sources for the amounts in the
chart relate to periods that are not
necessarily coterminous.
Source: Premier League; Football
League; Deloitte analysis.

8. Change 2017/18
versus 2016/17 (%)
League 1
League 2
Annual Review of Football Finance 2018 | Stadia
Stadia
Total attendances increased to their highest
levels in almost 60 years in the 2017/18
season, driven by Tottenham Hotspur’s move
to Wembley Stadium.
32,386
1997/98
39,037
2007/08
40,096
2017/18
+21% +3%
Increase in average Premier League stadium
capacity over the past 20 years
Premier League and Football League clubs’ average matchday attendances
– 2013/14 to 2017/18 (000s)
40
30
20
0 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
10
50
36.7 36.2 36.5
16.6 17.9 17.6
4.4 4.7 5.0
7.6 7.2 7.2
35.8
20.2
4.9
8.0
2017/18
38.5
20.5
4.5
7.8
7%
2%
2%
7%
96%
72%
50%
47%
96%
73%
51%
42%
96%
65%
48%
48%
96%
68%
46%
48%
96%
65%
47%
51%
Stadium utilisation
Source: Premier League; Football
League; Deloitte analysis.
Premier League
Championship

9. Annual Review of Football Finance 2017 | Europe’s premier leagues
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