Barcelona is number one among European champions

A KPMG study compared the economic performance of champions from eight top leagues. The Catalan giant dominates in half of the indicators.

Barcelona is number one among European champions
Being the best club in Spain, Germany, or England holds far more economic weight than winning in the Netherlands or Turkey. A new study by KPMG compares six key performance indicators among clubs from the eight strongest European leagues. Based on data from the 2017/2018 season, FC Barcelona tops three of the six categories. With superstar Lionel Messi at the heart of the team, the Catalan club leads in total revenue, number of social media followers, and player salary expenditure. “Barcelona competes with clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United in revenue rankings. Among the champions compared in this study, it is clearly number one,” said Jozef Tokos, sports analyst and football agent, in an interview with the Economic Daily.

The Neymar effect
One of the most striking figures in the KPMG study is Barcelona’s sharp 42 percent year-on-year increase in player salary costs. After the last season, these costs represented as much as four-fifths of the club’s total revenue. “This was due to an exceptional situation on the transfer market, when the club sold Brazilian Neymar and then bought several new players. Also significant was the improved contract for Lionel Messi,” explained Tokos. With the 222 million euros earned from Neymar’s departure, Barcelona signed players such as Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembélé, Paulinho, Nelson Semedo, and Gerard Deulofeu. While salaries account for 81 percent of Barcelona’s revenue, other league-winning clubs in top European leagues have much lower ratios.

Weak attendance
Where Barcelona does not lead is in squad value, net profit, and especially in stadium capacity usage. Last season, the club filled its Nou Camp stadium to just 66 percent of its capacity on average—the lowest among the eight clubs analyzed. “What’s interesting is that despite this, the club’s ticket sales revenue increased by 24 percent. And the club is even planning to expand the current 99,000-seat stadium to 105,000,” Tokos noted.

Lower fan turnout alongside higher income may be explained by preseason increases in ticket prices for both La Liga matches and Champions League games. “Match attendance is one of the few areas where Barcelona can still improve compared to other clubs,” said the football manager. The best performer in this category was Bayern Munich, which has had full capacity at its 60,000-seat Allianz Arena for several years.

Top 5 and the rest
KPMG’s statistics clearly highlight the economic gap between top-tier teams in different countries. For instance, Turkish champion Galatasaray Istanbul reported annual revenue of 114 million euros—six times less than Barcelona. Even more striking is the difference between Barcelona and Dutch champion PSV Eindhoven, whose annual income of 62 million euros is roughly equal to Messi’s salary for a single season. “Clubs like Galatasaray or PSV Eindhoven look like poor relatives next to the others. However, FC Porto showed an interesting improvement,” said Tokos. Porto’s revenue increased by 19 percent year-on-year, the highest growth among the eight clubs monitored. Of course, it’s easier to post large percentage gains when your previous revenue was around 100 million euros, rather than after you’ve crossed the half-billion mark.