European clubs brace themselves for £4Bn revenue drop

The coronavirus crisis has hit leagues hard around the continent, and the impact will be felt for years

3:46pm on Tuesday 8th September 2020
By Martin Macdonald

European Club Association chairman Andrea Agnelli has predicted that clubs around the continent will lose around £4 billion in revenue over the next two years.

The coronavirus crisis impacted every aspect of life around the globe including sporting events, which were initially postponed and then eventually played but with no spectators.

The German Bundesliga led the way by becoming the first major league to return to action, albeit with no fans, as competition organisers strived to get tournaments finished.

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However, broadcasting and sponsorship revenue was badly affected, with certain companies being owed back television money.

Agnelli, who is also the chairman of Juventus, outlined the losses in a meeting of the ECA general assembly on Tuesday.

"We have seen very important rebates to the principal broadcasters both at domestic level and at International level,” he said during a video conference.

“We have seen a £330 million rebate in the Premier League, we have seen a downturn in the Bundesliga domestic rights of about 200 million euros and we are in the process of finalising the account with UEFA with a reduction of around 575 million euros 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 four billion euros in the next two years.”

As for football at the moment, he said the sport is still in a state of "crisis management" as it embarks on a brand new season in Europe.

Fans will start being gradually let into stadiums as the weeks and months progress, but full house matches at capacity appear to still be some distance away.