2006/2007 Annual Revenue List

[Jim_UK]

Deloitte's Football Money League, which is based on revenues generated during 2006/7, has been released and shows we are in 6th place. The figures take into account income from ticket sales, merchandising and broadcasting contracts but do not include transfer revenues and does not calculate profitability.

Real Madrid's revenue increased from £202 million the season before to £236.2 million. Obviously their winning of La Liga that season had alot to do with it. Man Utd significantly closed the gap after they went from £168 million to £212 million this time around, success in the Premier League, a CL semi-final, F.A. Cup finalists and with new Premier League tv deals, expect them and all English clubs to make more money this season.

Why this is important is to highlight how we are slipping behind and what we should be doing about it to increase our revenue. We have a huge stadium, but we don't fill it week in week out, that has to be rectified. Arsenal's move up this list is mainly down to their increased stadium that they regularly fill, if we could do the same then we'd have more money for the transfers we all argue over. I know tv deals are different in Italy, but maybe there are other avenues of revenue the club could explore.

And dare i say it, being more competitive in the league and actually winning it & the Coppa Italia would help too! Solely relying on CL success is not such a great financial plan.


1) Real Madrid: £236.2m
2) Man Utd: £212.1m
3) Barcelona: £195.3m
4) Chelsea: £190.5m
5) Arsenal: £177.6m
6) AC Milan: £153m
7) Bayern Munich: £150.3m
8) Liverpool: £133.9m
9) Inter Milan: £131.3m
10) AS Roma: £106.1m

[slifersd]

To a certain degree, I would actually rather not knowing about this. We are the sixth richest club in the world, that is a good accomplishment but we spend like a wuss in the transfer market because we appearantly don't have any money for it. Even though I knew that was a load of crap to begin with, learning the truth still hurts me.

As for our disadvantage to the top 5, stadium capacity is not the only reason for the problems. We don't have nearly the drawing power of the top 5 because we lack the mega star players who can bring in the ratings and audiences. Real Madrid wasn't this rich until Florentino started the whole superstar signings spree, which launched them right to the top of the world. In the meantime, we sign Real Madrid rejects and pretend like they are big time players. Lack of new signings cause lack of excitement among fans, especially those who don't follow Milan exclusively. That is why we can't sell out our stadium and doesn't get nearly as much endorsements as Real Madrid or Man Utd. At least that is part of the reason. With the way this team hasn been going, we are going to need a superstar filled youth team to put us back to the top, sort of like the 92 generation Man Utd did. And considering their track record, that is incredably unlikely to happen.

[Reza]

But don't forget the state of Italian football overall, that is a big contributor to the decline, not just one (or even more) management not doing the needed transfer business or fail in generating excitement. The EPL is always to going to have more universal appeal and it is no surprise that they can afford and are willing to spend to build new stadiums really. We should buy based on need, so yes we need a lot of the players listed in the summer mercato thread but we need them to win not just to have a galactico team for the sake of it.

[RIO]

1. Real Madrid: Were in an incredibly poor financial position as late as 2000. Received some very convenient monetary infusions via a somewhat shady transaction involving the Spanish government and their old training complex around that time and then signed some players that really helped them to sell a hell of a lot of shirts in Asia and all over the world. It cerainly wasn't the soundest or most likely way to make a buck, but, hey it, worked didn't it?
2. Man U: Extremely shrewd in financial and player dealings (they almost always seem to get rid of players at just the right time). Also, benefit from being the best known club in places where soccer is about as well known as curling and among the uncommitted and the fashionistas. Never discount the power of that huge EPL TV contract, too.
3. Barcelona: Will always be popular wherever a little bit of rebel spirit lives. Also, they own their stadium (I think, if not they have a nice part of its revenue) and usually spend wisely, which leads to good finishes which help pay for everything.
4. Chelsea: Someday that Russian less-than-clean money will dry up and they will simply go back to what they were from the 1950s, a relatively big club that gets up to 4th place sometimes. It won't happen tommorow, but it will happen. So, I hope they enjoy this success while it lasts and make the best of it.
5. Nice new stadium and shrewd business dealings, plus a nice little infusion of Gulf money have made them bigger than they have any right to be. Add to that an extremely well thought out transfer policy (so few failures...Julio Baptista, Reyes, Cygan who else?) and that EPL TV deal, plus worldwide recognition in all the usual places.
6. AC Milan: We could do better, but are hampered by both the fact we do not own our stadium and the owner sometimes thinks more of politics (and fails to use his political standing to really help us when he is in power) than the club. But for all that, the factwe are in sixth is something of an accomplishment.
7. Bayern: The only German club anyone cares about outside of Germany (sorry all you legion of Dortmund fans). Well run and huge within their own league as well as being politically connected. Gigantic fish in a little pond.
8. Liverpool: Aren't they in a ton of debt? They'd better hope they do well as this year as they seem to always be hoping to do and never quite doing or this house of remitance cards could come crashing down. Sure they have the US ownership (which is not the panacea many outside the US seem to think it is), the TV deal, the historical signifigance, the popularity among the neutrals and a classicly fashionable shirt, but without some real success they could be back where they were in 1999, which wasn't all that great.
9. Inter: Just wait, next year the league will be back on its usual footing (Juve/Fiat) and they will be not getting the calls they have benefitted from for the last three years. Their "moxie" has not worked in Europe since the mid-60s and Moratti is an idiot. They will soon drop out of the top ten faster than you can say, "I wanna buy Arquero and Robinho and several other big stars who can't play together! WE can make it work!"
10. AS Roma: Well someone had to be in tenth I guess.

[forward]

4. Chelsea: Someday that Russian less-than-clean money will dry up and they will simply go back to what they were from the 1950s, a relatively big club that gets up to 4th place sometimes. It won't happen tommorow, but it will happen. So, I hope they enjoy this success while it lasts and make the best of it.

Don't think so. Chelsea has become a brand now, a pretty profitable one as far as I am concerned. They have the future in part to the native grown players (Terry, Lapmard) and to the long-term investments (arena, football school).
It's really hard to grow from nothing to something, but once you are among the top, it's even harder to loose it all.

[Warro Bantan]

2. Man U are 300M pounds or more in debt...or is that 8. Liverpool? Both methinks, are up to their eyeballs in debt..not a good position to be in, regardless of turnover.

Milan dont have the debts those clubs have, and while we wont benefit from the political machinations that afforded Madrid to "vanish" their huge debt overnight, we are operating in the black, as opposed to the red, which is something, considering our huge wage bill.

All in all, we cant compare ourselves to the English and Spanish clubs further than from a peripheral level, as their tv deals are huge, and that is one of the biggest single income drivers.

Not mad at all as to where we are on the list...closer examination will show how fragile those ahead of us are, in terms of maintaining the gap.

[outlaw_member]

To a certain degree, I would actually rather not knowing about this. We are the sixth richest club in the world, that is a good accomplishment but we spend like a wuss in the transfer market because we appearantly don't have any money for it. Even though I knew that was a load of crap to begin with, learning the truth still hurts me.

As for our disadvantage to the top 5, stadium capacity is not the only reason for the problems. We don't have nearly the drawing power of the top 5 because we lack the mega star players who can bring in the ratings and audiences. Real Madrid wasn't this rich until Florentino started the whole superstar signings spree, which launched them right to the top of the world. In the meantime, we sign Real Madrid rejects and pretend like they are big time players. Lack of new signings cause lack of excitement among fans, especially those who don't follow Milan exclusively. That is why we can't sell out our stadium and doesn't get nearly as much endorsements as Real Madrid or Man Utd. At least that is part of the reason. With the way this team hasn been going, we are going to need a superstar filled youth team to put us back to the top, sort of like the 92 generation Man Utd did. And considering their track record, that is incredably unlikely to happen.

I thought Kaka was a superstar, you have plenty of stars. Your team is riddled with World Cup and European Cup winners. So I don't think that is the reason, adding to the fact that Arsenal have no superstars, whatsoever. So your reasoning is not correct.

[outlaw_member]

5. Nice new stadium and shrewd business dealings, plus a nice little infusion of Gulf money have made them bigger than they have any right to be. Add to that an extremely well thought out transfer policy (so few failures...Julio Baptista, Reyes, Cygan who else?) and that EPL TV deal, plus worldwide recognition in all the usual places.


You definitely need to put more and more emphasis on the transfer side of the club. Did you know that since the Unbeaten team of 2004, Wenger has replaced the whole team except Toure, Lehmann and Gilberto. With a team who are currently 1st in the EPL table, within 3 years, WHILST making a profit in a league, where almost every team has a sugar daddy, who spend more than us (Likes of Portsmouth and West Ham). I don't think any club in the world could have achieved that. Our transfer dealings are what makes us rich, yeah the stadium is what has brought in the large money. However without the sales of Anelka from a 500,000 to 23 million or Overmars from 7 million to 25 million, we would never have had the money to build the stadium. Also we are 5th in the rich list after finishing 4th, FA Cup 6th Round, and CL 2nd Round. So with better performances, we will be in the top 3, very soon.

[Jim_UK]

2. Man U are 300M pounds or more in debt...or is that 8. Liverpool? Both methinks, are up to their eyeballs in debt..not a good position to be in, regardless of turnover.

Milan dont have the debts those clubs have, and while we wont benefit from the political machinations that afforded Madrid to "vanish" their huge debt overnight, we are operating in the black, as opposed to the red, which is something, considering our huge wage bill.

All in all, we cant compare ourselves to the English and Spanish clubs further than from a peripheral level, as their tv deals are huge, and that is one of the biggest single income drivers.

Not mad at all as to where we are on the list...closer examination will show how fragile those ahead of us are, in terms of maintaining the gap.

Warro how do you know we're not in debt? Liverpool & Man Utd are the obvious examples of clubs in debt but this is due to the form of their takeover where the investors have borrowed money.

Now although we were 1 of only about 4 Serie A clubs to make an annual profit a season or 2 ago(something like £4 million, Udinese i think were highest with £6 million), it doesn't mean we always make a profit or mean we're not in debt.

Like i said in the transfer thread, we were told we started our economical transfer policy to ensure the survival of the club where others continued to spend freely. Now were these measures purely preventative or were they because we were already in debt after some mammoth spending in the 90s? Who really knows for sure, that's why i think it would be nice if we knew if we're in debt or not ... and if this knowledge is already available why wasn't i told about it? :sagrin:

[slifersd]

I thought Kaka was a superstar, you have plenty of stars. Your team is riddled with World Cup and European Cup winners. So I don't think that is the reason, adding to the fact that Arsenal have no superstars, whatsoever. So your reasoning is not correct.


Arsenal doesn't need superstars because they make wise investments on players. They don't have a load of old players who gets paid millions a year while playing like crap. They don't have to invest a lot in the team because they sign good young players for very cheap and then make them into stars.

The problem with Milan is that they think they have a good team when they don't. Winning the European supercup and World Championship cup doesn't really mean anything other than you are a good team comparing to Sevilla and Boca Juniors. Inter is dominating us every year in Serie A because they are a superior team.

[jtelly]

Chelsea's "profit" was negative 75 million pounds last year...they have a while to go before they can be self-sustaining.

[Graeme C]

Arsenal doesn't need superstars because they make wise investments on players. They don't have a load of old players who gets paid millions a year while playing like crap. They don't have to invest a lot in the team because they sign good young players for very cheap and then make them into stars.

The problem with Milan is that they think they have a good team when they don't. Winning the European supercup and World Championship cup doesn't really mean anything other than you are a good team comparing to Sevilla and Boca Juniors. Inter is dominating us every year in Serie A because they are a superior team.

I wouldnt exactly say inter have a superior team, they have a superior squad. Inter have spent there money more wisely recently, and have choice up front. We seem to rely on older players, and are painfully more careful with spending money. Plus the management love a bargain.

I really would love to see Milan have its own stadium, then see the income we could generate from it. Considering we have one of the best averages for fans turning up

[Graeme C]

Arsenal doesn't need superstars because they make wise investments on players. They don't have a load of old players who gets paid millions a year while playing like crap. They don't have to invest a lot in the team because they sign good young players for very cheap and then make them into stars.

The problem with Milan is that they think they have a good team when they don't. Winning the European supercup and World Championship cup doesn't really mean anything other than you are a good team comparing to Sevilla and Boca Juniors. Inter is dominating us every year in Serie A because they are a superior team.

I wouldnt exactly say inter have a superior team, they have a superior squad. Inter have spent there money more wisely recently, and have choice up front. We seem to rely on older players, and are painfully more careful with spending money. Plus the management love a bargain.

I really would love to see Milan have its own stadium, then see the income we could generate from it. Considering we have one of the best averages for fans turning up

[Graeme C]

Arsenal doesn't need superstars because they make wise investments on players. They don't have a load of old players who gets paid millions a year while playing like crap. They don't have to invest a lot in the team because they sign good young players for very cheap and then make them into stars.

The problem with Milan is that they think they have a good team when they don't. Winning the European supercup and World Championship cup doesn't really mean anything other than you are a good team comparing to Sevilla and Boca Juniors. Inter is dominating us every year in Serie A because they are a superior team.

I wouldnt exactly say inter have a superior team, they have a superior squad. Inter have spent there money more wisely recently, and have choice up front. We seem to rely on older players, and are painfully more careful with spending money. Plus the management love a bargain.

I really would love to see Milan have its own stadium, then see the income we could generate from it. Considering we have one of the best averages for fans turning up

[outlaw_member]

Who owns your stadium, the council?

[outlaw_member]

I wouldnt exactly say inter have a superior team, they have a superior squad. Inter have spent there money more wisely recently, and have choice up front. We seem to rely on older players, and are painfully more careful with spending money. Plus the management love a bargain.

I really would love to see Milan have its own stadium, then see the income we could generate from it. Considering we have one of the best averages for fans turning up

I agree there squad is one of the best in Europe, especially there depth in defense. If there is anything they can improve is having an attacking midfielder. Stankovic is the only good one. They should have got Riquelme when they had the chance.

[slifersd]

I wouldnt exactly say inter have a superior team, they have a superior squad. Inter have spent there money more wisely recently, and have choice up front. We seem to rely on older players, and are painfully more careful with spending money. Plus the management love a bargain.

I really would love to see Milan have its own stadium, then see the income we could generate from it. Considering we have one of the best averages for fans turning up


Inter has a superior team. They have more talent and depth than us, a lot more, at least that's how I see it. The thing about Inter is that they are not afraid to spend money when it is the right investment. They signed Ibrahimovic a few days after signing Crespo. Everyone thought they were crazy but they came out looking like a genius in that transaction. And that is exactly why Milan has declined so much over the past few years. This team doesn't just love bargain, bargain is the only thing they are looking for nowadays. They don't sign anyone who isn't a total bargain and obviously that means they can't sign star players because those players' teams aren't stupid enough to sell their star player for dirt cheap.

As far as the stadium goes, I seem to recall Milan having a plan to build their own stadium a few years back. That plan, however, was dismissed by Berlusconi because he thinks Sansiro has too much history for Milan to leave. I don't know about you but that sounds more like an excuse more than anything else to me. Building our own stadium will benefit our team a lot in the long run but the management once again cheaped out on the initial investment. This team is being managed like they have no money whatsoever when they are one of the richest clubs in the world.

[outlaw_member]

I know how you feel because it's the same for Arsenal. Wenger is a very stingy guy(because he has a degree in economics) so he spends money on kids instead of proven players, so the summer is a crap time. Even than he buys 1-2 kids. When once it was exciting to see who your team bought, not anymore though.