The beautiful, but unprofitable, game
Friday 21 June 2024
Exam content: Unit 3.7 - The difference between profit and cash flow
The English Premier League (EPL) is the world's highest-earning football (soccer) league with total revenue of €7 billion ($7.5 billion) for the 2022/23 season. However, the EPL has experienced financial losses for several consecutive years. High staff costs of the football players in particular have been the main cause of the deficit, with only four football clubs out of 20 in the EPL declaring a profit in the 2022/23 season.
Most valuable football players worldwide as of May 2024, by transfer value (in million euros)
| Rank | Player | Club | League | Value (€m) |
| 1 | Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | La Liga | 187.8 |
| 2 | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | EPL | 186.6 |
| 3 | Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | La Liga | 176.2 |
| 4 | Phil Foden | Manchester City | EPL | 150 |
| 5 | Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | EPL | 142.7 |
| 6 | Jamal Musiala | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 130.7 |
| 7 | Florian Wirtz | Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga | 123.5 |
| 8 | Rodrygo | Real Madrid | La Liga | 121.2 |
| 9 | Declan Rice | Arsenal | EPL | 117.9 |
| 10 | Rodri | Manchester City | EPL | 117.0 |
Source: Statista
In contrast, La Liga (Spain's top-tier football league) and the Bundesliga (Germany's top-flight football league), which generate roughly half the revenue, have both achieved overall profitability. Efforts to improve financial sustainability in the EPL include the introduction of financial fair play rules that limit spending of football players so as to maintain a competitive balance sheet starting from the 2024/25 season.
Football, often described as "the beautiful game" may be so for the fans, but not necessarily in terms of profits for the football clubs.
Read more about Unit 3.7 - Cash flow here.
