The 'Big Five' European leagues have generated €17.2 billion in 2022

Manchester City's players pose with the UEFA Champions League trophy after the team's won the final match against Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on June 11, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkiye; Image by Berk Ozkan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

According to a recent Deloitte report, the ‘Big Five’ European leagues have generated €17.2 billion in 2021-22. This is a record number, outperforming the pre-pandemic benchmark, which was €17 billion in 2018-19. The ‘Big Five’ consists of the Premier League in England, the Bundesliga in Germany, La Liga in Spain, Serie A in Italy, and Ligue 1 in France.

The aggregate commercial revenue also grew to €6.3 billion in 2022—a 17 percent increase, due to the increased interest in sponsoring premium sporting properties with a global reach, such as the Premier League. At the same time, broadcast revenues declined by 12 percent, to €8.9 billion. This was expected due to matches getting postponed, which resulted in a deferral of associated broadcast revenues. 

However, there is a clear polarisation between the Premier League and the rest of the ‘Big Five’ leagues. The Premier League reported a 12 percent rise in overall revenues in the 2021-22 season, with a record aggregate revenue of €6,442 million. Following England’s PL was Spain’s La Liga with an aggregate revenue of €3,277 million. 

For the financial performance of the clubs and leagues across European football, sponsorship revenue is key. In 2021-22, commercial revenue represented close to 37 percent of the total revenue generated by clubs across all five football leagues. The report states: “Improved access to content has spurred demand for sponsorship assets with global appeal, skewed towards ‘premium sports’ properties that attract a large, passionate fanbase. Broader geopolitical and macroeconomic trends continue to deliver interest from new markets, such as the Middle East, and from new sectors, such as cryptocurrency, looking to enhance brand awareness and association.”  

The global fanbase plays a key role in getting high viewership too. For instance, the recent UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan was expected to amass a viewership of 450 million. Even in terms of the live audience, the report states: “Premier League clubs achieved record crowds of 39,950 (utilisation of 98 percent) on average.” 

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Additionally, during the 2021-22 season, revenue for Premier League clubs also increased by 12 percent—an all-time high of £5.5 billion. Reason? Record matchday revenue as fans return to the stadium post the pandemic, increasing from £732m in 2020-21 to £763m in 2021-22. As per the report, the upcoming season is expected to have another record year with revenue touching close to £5.8 billion, as the league’s new and lucrative international broadcasting rights deals commence. 

According to Deloitte’s Football Money League report 2023, the total revenue for the top 20 revenue generating clubs in 2021-22 stood at €9.2 billion, an increase of 13 percent compared to the €8.2 billion in 2020-21. Manchester City with a revenue of €731 million, retain their position at the top of the Money League and for the second time were the club to generate the highest revenue in world football.