For many top flight English side, the economic forecast looks gloomy. For Tottenham Hotspur, it looks manically depressing. Andrea Agnelli, chairman of the European Club Association has dropped a €575million bombshell which will significantly affect the amount of cash that will be sloshing about in European football for next season.
For all teams, this is a candle being burned at both ends. Match-day revenues are in the minus column as there are no supporters allowed into stadiums, and any initial moves to reintroduce supporters is primarily going to feature high-end clients who have already paid; whom in the main, are just getting back some of what they are already owed.
“We have seen very important rebates to the principal broadcasters both at domestic level and at international level,”
“We have seen a £330million rebate in the Premier League, we have seen a downturn in the Bundesliga domestic rights of about 200million euros (approx 181million) and we are in the process of finalising the account with UEFA with a reduction of around 575million euros (approx £520million) for the international club competitions, and that is all money that is not going to be distributed.
“We (European clubs) are looking at a revenue decrease of approximately 4billion euros (approx £3.6billion) in the next two years.”
Agnelli said the absence of supporters from stadiums due to social distancing measures has meant “the complete wipe out of an important source of revenue for everybody” and predicted a downturn in sponsorship revenue and a 20 to 30 per cent drop in the overall value of the transfer market.
Full transcript from BT Sport here
As far as broadcasting monies, this is also an unclear mess. As we shared with you recently, 160 Premier League matches will not be shown in the UK. Which is pretty thick, when one acknowledges that football has become the UK’s biggest export since becoming turbo-charged in 1992.
The rebate demanded from English clubs was £330million, and the cuts look to be with us for some considerable time to come. Commercial sponsorships are also predicted to slump by up to as much as a third, as footfall at grounds remains at zero.
Not a great time to owe the banks the wrong end of a billion quid.