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Premier League revenues soar
English top-flight clubs shared a record windfall of almost £2bn in the 2007-08 season, as Man Utd announce £80m shirt sponsorship deal
Premier League clubs saw their revenue soar in the 2007/08 season by a quarter to almost £2bn, according to a report by accountancy firm Deloitte. The clubs shared revenues of £1.93bn, and just over half of the division (11 out of 20) made an operating profit, despite salaries breaking the £1bn barrier for the first time.
As reported yesterday, the total debt carried by top flight sides was £3.1bn, of which two-thirds is shared between the big four of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, but Deloitte was optimistic about the finances of these clubs, saying that they all had business plans that "made sense".
"In the season that has just finished [2008/09]," the report's author Dan Jones told the BBC, "we think the growth is going to be a little bit lower, but it is going to get clubs up to that magical £2bn mark - which is a remarkable achievement, an average of £100m a club in the Premier League."
Meanwhile, Manchester United yesterday sealed the most lucrative shirt sponsorship deal in the sport, replacing their current sponsors, troubled insurance giant AIG, with the US financial group Aon Corp, who will pay £20m a year for four seasons.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Matthew Syed, the Times: "The Deloitte report tells us much about the financial nuts and bolts of the Premier League but there is one line that jumps out and bites you. It is that the wage bill of the top flight of English football exceeded £1bn for the first time in 2007-08, which represents a lot of bottles of Cristal at the Collection bar, whichever way you swill it. Is it annoying? Yes. Is it vexing? Yes. Will we all have a good rant about it? Yes. Will we tune into the radio and find ourselves nodding in agreement when the caller on line one asks: 'How on earth can so and so be on 60 grand a week? Yes." ·
