Revenue in the European soccer market increased by a substantial 13% in the 2024-25 season, according to a new Deloitte report, moving past €40 billion ($45.6 billion) for the first time.
A record total of €40.2 billion was set in 2024-25, with the 'big five' European leagues – England's Premier League, Spain's LaLiga, the Bundesliga in Germany, the Italian Serie A, and France's Ligue 1 – contributing over 50% of that figure (€21.6 billion).
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Global professional services firm Deloitte’s 2026 Annual Review of Football Finance report showed that those five leagues' total revenue increased by 6% from €20.4 billion in 2023-24 – but analysis from the company's Sports Business Group also predicts a slowing down of aggregate revenue growth in the 'big five' for both 2025-26 and the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Among the 96 clubs in the big five leagues, collectively, all three areas of revenue grew – sponsorship, broadcast, and matchday income. However, the 18 Ligue 1 clubs and 20 LaLiga teams actually saw both their commercial and broadcast income reduce, year-on-year. Therefore, matchday revenue was the only one of the three sectors in which income rose (by 16% collectively) amongst all five major leagues.
This has been attributed to a rise in the number of pan-European UEFA club competition games which took place that season, as a consequence of governing body UEFA increasing the number of games and teams in the top-tier Champions League, second-tier Europa League, and third-tier Conference League.
In terms of combined broadcast revenue in the top five leagues, meanwhile, this rose to €9.6 billion in 2024-25 – again, partly because of increased fees handed down by networks covering the aforementioned UEFA competitions last season. The equivalent 2023-24 total was €9.4 billion.
Commercial revenue also rose, to €8.6 billion, with sharp growth in that department in England, Spain, and Germany.
However, Deloitte’s report also showed that the clubs' aggregate operating profit dropped to €400 million, having been up at €600 million in 2023-24.
In 2024-25, Ligue 1 was the only one of the big five leagues in which its clubs' total revenue collectively decreased from the 2023-24 total.
In terms of overall losses amongst the big five competitions (after player trading, financing costs, and exceptional items were taken into account), meanwhile, these increased to a total of €1.5 billion in 2024-25.
Turning to each specific league, the Premier League's 20 clubs again generated by far and away the most income out of all the leagues – bringing in €8.09 billion in 2024-25 (up 8% year-on-year), including just over €4 billion in broadcast monies, €2.85 billion (up 13%) from sponsorships, and €1.24 billion in matchday revenue.
The 18 Bundesliga teams, meanwhile, were responsible for €4.25 billion of revenue last season – €1.7 billion in broadcast revenue (up 11%), €1.14 billion for sponsorships, €802 million in what Deloitte has termed 'other commercial' revenue, and €599 million in matchday revenue.
The total Bundesliga revenues rose to over €4 billion for the first time, with the total figure representing a 12% rise from the prior season.
The 18 clubs also recorded the highest operating profit – €0.4 billion – in Bundesliga history, up 155% year-on-year.
LaLiga's clubs brought in €4.1 billion collectively, meanwhile, up 9% from 2023-24. However, the heavyweight clubs of Real Madrid and Barcelona generated over €2.1 billion of that total, equating to 52%. That sum stood at 48% in 2023-24.
Commercial and matchday revenue rose amongst the 20 top-tier Spanish sides last season, but broadcast fees declined by 5% to €1.7 billion, primarily due to a reduction in UEFA distributions to teams from that country.
The overall results for the 20 LaLiga sides came to an operating profit of €0.3 billion, while the revenue growth contributed to an improved wages-to-revenue ratio of 60%.
In Serie A, meanwhile, just over €3 billion of total revenue was brought in, up 4% year-on-year. Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan contributed 45% of that total, up from 39% in 2023-24.
All three revenue sectors saw year-on-year increases – matchday revenue by 3% to €0.5 billion, broadcast income by 1% to €1.5 billion, and commercial revenue by 8% to €1 billion.
Operating profits for the 20 clubs came to €9 million – a year-on-year decrease, caused by growth in operating costs – while pre-tax losses were significantly reduced (by 18%), coming to €0.3 billion.
Finally, the Ligue 1 combined club revenue fell 15% year-to-year, coming in at €2.2 billion in 2024-25.
Paris Saint-Germain – the Ligue 1 champions and also consecutive UEFA Champions League winners – brought in 39% of that reduced total by themselves, underlining their dominance in the league.
Small matchday and broadcast revenue increases were offset by a year-on-year drop of €0.4 billion – 26% – in commercial income.
The broadcast income rise came as UEFA distributions increased and thus offset a significant reduction in domestic revenues (a lengthy rights saga having caused turmoil in Ligue 1 over the past few seasons).
Overall, because of the fall in revenues, wages/revenue ratios in Ligue 1 increased to 80% in 2024-25, up from 73% in 2023-24, while operating losses were more than double the 2023-24 total, amounting to €0.6 billion.
In terms of Deloitte's projections, the professional services heavyweight forecasts revenue in the market to further increase to €44 billion for 2025-26 (that season having finished in May for Europe's main leagues), and then to €45.7 billion in 2026-27.
Across the past five seasons, total revenue has risen from €27.6 billion to over €40 billion.
Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, commented: “European football has forged the dominant position on the world stage, but as US sports consider moves to the European market, and competition from other entertainment businesses intensifies, there are undoubtedly challenges ahead.
“Now is the time for leaders to concentrate on diversifying business models, while collaborating with others on a shared plan for the future. Strong leadership and innovation, underpinned by fit-for-purpose regulation, are paramount.”
