Source: Deloitte Football Money League 2013
The different leagues show different strengths in their revenue streams. It is unsurprising to find Real Madrid and Barcelona taking a lion's share of the broadcasting money from La Liga as they are independent to negotiate their own contracts. As do the Serie with AC Milan sharing that distinction with rivals Inter as smaller market Juventus and Roma suffer in comparison.
The Premiership on the other hand does hands out roughly equal sums of money from TV and media rights while matchday receipts vary quite markedly with each club. The Bundesliga are the masters at raking in commercial revenue as they find sponsors for everything and anything. From bottled water to cars to pain medication to naming rights, the German league has a long standing cozy relationship with the corporate world. They are also the best at living within their means.
For the first time in history, a club cracked €500m in revenue in a single year, and that distinction belongs to Real Madrid, the most recognizable sporting brand on the planet. They are closely followed by Liga supremos Barcelona who are running away with the league title his season. The most lucrative Premiership club is Man Utd boosted by their recent GM deal worth €70m. Bundesliga behemoths Bayern Munich are fourth as they reign tops in commercialism. Chelsea lie in fifth on the strength of the TV and Champions League winnings earned last summer and Arsenal come in one position lower.
The Emirates charges the highest ticket prices in the Premiership as Arsenal's revenue model skews towards matchday receipts. Their commercial stream is €64.9 which is miniscule compared to Real Madrid (€187.2m), Barca (€186.9m), Man Utd (€145.4m), and Bayern Munich (€201.6m). Even Man City, Chelsea, and Liverpool earn more from selling their name. Arsenal has negotiated an improved contract with Emirates Airlines worth €150m for stadium naming rights set to expire 2028 and a shirt sponsorship that runs till 2018. Further increases are expected when Nike's contract comes up for renewal in the 2013- 14 season. However, as the report cautions, further success developing commercial revenue depends on Arsenal retaining it's representation in Europe's elite competition and improving its league performance (read silverware). Apart from the not to be sneered at TV and appearance money that flows from being included in the top echelon.
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