Thursday 2 June 2016 09:29, UK
Clubs from the top four tiers of English football generated more than £4bn in revenue for the first time in the 2014/15 season, according to the latest report into football's finances.
The 25th annual review by Deloitte has also revealed that clubs recorded a second consecutive year of pre-tax profits in 2014/15, the first time this has happened since 1999.
The vast majority of the £4bn was generated by the Premier League, whose 20 clubs posted figures of £3.3bn to remain Europe's most profitable league, generating over £1.5bn more than the Bundesliga with La Liga third. In contrast, clubs in Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1 generated combined operating losses.
"It's the most equitable distribution across those leading leagues," said Adam Bull of Deloitte.
"Because of the size of the deal, and the fact it's distributed more equitably than the others, that's why on any given Saturday any of the sides can beat another.
"It's that which makes it so exciting and then this season, with Leicester managing to do it across a whole season, it just shows how competitive the league is and that's why it's so interesting and drives the audience and then drives the values; it's quite a virtuous circle."
Premier League clubs' combined gross expenditure on player transfers also saw a record-high of £1.1bn in the 2014/15 season.
Despite the revenue increase being modest (3 per cent) when compared with wage costs growth (7 per cent), Dan Jones of Deloitte does not see this as a cause for concern.
"Wage costs grew at a faster rate than revenues in 2014/15 and as a result the division's wages/revenue ratio rose from 58 per cent to 61 per cent. However, this represents the second lowest level since 2004/05 and is 10 percentage points lower than in 2012/13.
"In fact, in the last two years, only 30 per cent of revenue increases have been consumed by wage growth, whereas in the five years to 2012/13 this figure was 99 per cent.
"The pace of football's financial growth in two and a half decades is staggering. By half-time of the second televised Premier League game next year, more broadcast revenue will have been generated than during the whole of the First Division season 25 years ago.
"It is particularly reassuring to see that clubs are looking to spend on improving stadia and infrastructure.
"The impact of the Premier League's broadcast deal is clear to see. For the first time, the Premier League leads the football world in all three key revenue categories - commercial, matchday and broadcast - and this is driving sustainable profitability. When the enhanced new broadcast deals commence in the 2016/17 season, operating profits could rise as high as £1bn."
