Evangelos Marinakis, Yasir Al-Rumayyan & Todd Boehly
It goes without saying that Premier League clubs are currently spending ludicrous amounts of money on transfers. According to Transfermarkt.com, Premier League clubs spent approximately €2.25 billion in transfer fees during the 2022 summer transfer window. That sum is nearly equal to the amount spent by the other four “big 5” European leagues combined (€3.30 billion). Newly-promoted Nottingham Forest had a net expenditure of €154.95m — the fourth largest sum in world football behind only Manchester United, Chelsea and West Ham United. The funds available to Premier League clubs across the board are mouth-watering and do not appear to be diminishing anytime soon.
During the 2021/22 season, the Premier League recorded a revenue of €6.1 billion. The next closest football league was Spain's LaLiga at €3.4 billion — far below that of their English counterparts. The graphic below charts the revenue changes for the big 5 European football leagues since the 1996/97 season.
Revenue of "Big 5" Leagues — source: Statista
The Premier League's increasing dominance of the market share is abundantly clear. During the 2000/01 season, the Premier League began to extend its gap in revenue over the other big 5 European leagues before taking a significant leap further ahead during the 2013/14 season. This coincided with new television deals signed with Sky and BT for Premier League broadcasts in the UK worth £3 billion, as well as a deal signed with NBC worth $250 million for the broadcasting rights in the United States of America. These lucrative TV deals helped to push England's elite competition into its own stratosphere financially; a zone in which it exclusively resides. More recently, the Premier League signed a £4.8 billion deal with Sky, BT and Amazon for the rights to broadcast games on their respective platforms from 2022 to 2025. The value of these deals is only likely to increase during the next round of negotiations as the popularity of the Premier League continues to grow.
The NFL, MLB and NBA are the only sports leagues that generate more revenue than the English Premier League, and only the NFL generates more revenue per game. MLB and NBA teams play 162 and 82 regular season games every season, respectively — a far greater number than that of the NFL or the Premier League, further inflating their revenue. Additionally, the fact that television revenue in the Premier League is distributed evenly amongst all 20 clubs means there is more financial parity in the league, allowing newly-promoted clubs like Nottingham Forest to spend exorbitant sums of money in the transfer market.
Not many would suggest that England or the rest of the United Kingdom possess a greater or more extensive football culture than some of their European counterparts. Therefore, it begs the question, what other factors have come into play to create this gulf in revenue and subsequent spending over the years?
A NEW SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
Chelsea fan in Soweto, South Africa
It is no hyperbole to say that the English Premier League has completely dominated the African market. In the late 20th/early 21st century, a decision was made by the league to aggressively pursue different markets around the globe, one of which was the African market. Over the years, increased accessibility to television and the internet has allowed more people to watch games and follow the conversations surrounding the Premier League. This has meant increased exposure to the product and more dedicated fanbases as a result. The prevalence of African star players has also played its part in attracting more fans from the continent and, as we know, support for football clubs is often passed down to children, thus increasing the popularity of Premier League football in Africa.
The South Africa-based SuperSport television network has had a longstanding relationship with the Premier League, first acquiring the rights to broadcast games in 1992. SuperSport and the Premier League currently have a deal in place which runs until 2025, allowing the broadcaster to show every single Premier League game throughout Sub-Saharan Africa in multiple languages. Included in this deal is access to the Premier League's official studio, Premier League Productions, where a number of former players and football experts appear on a variety of programmes to discuss various topics surrounding the game. This is a crucial component of the Premier League's strategy in broadening the conversation and discourse surrounding its product. Premier League games were ultimately far more accessible in Africa than other European leagues were as they had the foresight to see how football was changing — other major leagues such as LaLiga and the Bundesliga are trying to narrow the gap, with the former providing SuperSport with a similar level of access to content. Regardless, the gap is seemingly insurmountable at this point.
PLAYING CATCH-UP
The other major European leagues have certainly made efforts to bridge the monetary gap between themselves and the Premier League, but there are likely still more avenues to pursue. LaLiga could seek similar dominance in South America due to the similarities in their styles of football, as well as the prevalence of the Spanish language on the continent. However, the higher quality of South American football is a significant barrier. Although not at the level of Spain's premier competition, South American leagues are of a fairly high standard, especially Brazil's Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and the Argentine Primera División. Additionally, there is the presence of the CONMEBOL Libertadores; South America's equivalent of the UEFA Champions League. This competition is highly regarded in South America and around the world and, therefore, South American residents have access to their own high level football. This is also convenient due to the differences in time zones between Europe and South America, which serves as another barrier of entry for LaLiga football in South America.
An increase in the prevalence of South American players in LaLiga may help in drawing more interest from the continent, but the Spanish FA has long since imposed a rule that prevents clubs from registering more than three non-EU players per season. Whilst this does help in ensuring more homegrown players are developed and clubs do not exploit the lower costs of acquiring talented non-EU players, it also further hinders the potential growth of the league in a potentially marketable region. The English Premier League does not have such a rule, although clubs are still mandated to have at least eight homegrown players in a 25-man squad for a Premier League season. In fact, since the implementation of Brexit policies, it has become easier for non-homegrown players to earn work permits in the United Kingdom, essentially increasing the potential for more South American football players to be signed, especially due to the points system that rewards CONMEBOL Libertadores players very highly and increases their chances of earning work permits.
One of the biggest advantages the Premier League possesses in its rapid growth in popularity is the prevalence of the English language. Whilst Mandarin Chinese is the world’s most commonly spoken language amongst native speakers, English is the world’s most commonly spoken language across the board according to Ethnologue.
Most common languages spoken — source: Ethnologue
With English being so commonly spoken as a non-native language, one can surmise that several countries with official languages such as Spanish or French also contain many people who have learnt English due to how commonplace the language is globally. This works in the Premier League's favour as there often isn't much of a language barrier when exposing the league's content to different parts of the world.
Colonialism has certainly played a major role in the popularity of the English language as the British often dictated many of the world's affairs, as also made evident by the Greenwich meridian representing the prime meridian of the world. I shan't bore you with a history lesson (if I haven't already), but clearly the impact of the British Empire is still being felt today. Another major factor in the popularity of the English language is the influence of the United States of America, which exists as perhaps the most powerful empire of all-time. The United States can profoundly impose its will on the planet in so many different ways and, with English being its most common language by a wide margin, many have sought to teach and learn English due to its importance in an increasingly globalised world.
Speaking of the United States, this is perhaps the most important market for European leagues to gain control of, and the Premier League has already taken a large step ahead of its competition.
THE AMERICAN DREAM
The United States of America is, without question, the most lucrative sports market in the world. Sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA and MLB are exclusively played by American and Canadian teams but remain amongst the highest earning leagues in the world; access to the American market is subsequently a significant goal of the major European football leagues.
As previously mentioned, the Premier League signed a lucrative deal with NBC to broadcast games in the United States. In contrast to the Premier League's six-year, $2.7 billion deal with NBC, LaLiga signed an eight-year deal worth $1.4 billion in 2021 — nearly half the sum of the Premier League’s deal and two years longer. The Italian Serie A has a deal with CBS Sports worth nearly $263 million from 2021 to 2024, whilst French Ligue 1 penned a four-year deal with beIN Sports worth ~$320 million until 2024. These numbers clearly pale in comparison to the Premier League’s figures and such a gulf in revenue is far from surprising. The Premier League's foreign marketing was undertaken far earlier than the other leagues and done far more aggressively, too.
As mentioned prior, a lack of language barriers has been of great benefit to England's top-flight and has thus not necessitated a significant shift in the presentation of content in order to attract American viewers. We have seen more aggressive attempts to access this market from LaLiga through pre-season friendlies, as well as plans to hold an official league game on American soil once a season involving the biggest Spanish clubs: Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. These are massive steps, but perhaps necessary if they hope to seriously challenge the Premier League's influence in the United States of America.
SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY
In every industry, investment is a crucial aspect of growth. The Premier League's financial boom throughout the 21st century has seen a sharp increase in individuals and corporations both willing and able to purchase football clubs in England. Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich opened the floodgates through his purchase of Chelsea Football Club in 2003 and the subsequent exorbitant fees spent by the club in the transfer market. During Abramovich's 19-year reign in charge, the value of the West London Club increased more than tenfold. Having spent a reported £140 million to acquire the club, Abramovich would then sell his prized asset for £2.5 billion to a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly, who has also pledged to invest an additional £1.75 billion in the club as part of the deal, bringing the overall investment to £4.75 billion. This further exemplifies the increase in value of the Premier League as a whole, especially when considering that many feel as though the sale could have garnered an even larger fee.
Since Roman Abramovich's initial purchase of Chelsea in 2003, we have seen a number of other purchases of Premier League and Championship clubs. Some of these include the purchase of a majority stake in Aston Villa by NSWE in 2018, the purchase of Liverpool by Fenway Sports Group in 2010 and, most significantly, the purchase of Manchester City by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) led by Sheikh Mansour, a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi who are worth over $1 trillion. This particular purchase sent shockwaves throughout the footballing world as it had become increasingly evident just how lucrative the Premier League could be and the financial muscle possessed by those who would be willing to invest in Premier League clubs — even clubs beyond what were, at the time, the "big four" clubs: Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour
With high-profile investors came increased spending in the league. The world's super rich have noticed the profitability of the Premier League and have subsequently invested in it, thus further increasing the available finances for clubs. This has turned into a cycle of increased investment and increased revenue in the Premier League on a large scale, thus regularly attracting a greater number of buyers. In most leagues, this level of interest simply isn't generated or, as is the case with German football, there are restrictions in place that limit what investors can do.
In Germany, the 50+1 rule is in place which prevents super rich businessmen and companies buying majority stakes in clubs. This ensures that club members and fans have the final say with regards to major changes at clubs such as changes to a club's crest or adjusting ticket prices. The rule serves to protect clubs from owners who are aiming to siphon money out of a club as opposed to helping the club achieve on-field success. The 50+1 rule essentially states that a club’s members must retain 50% of the club’s shares plus 1 share, hence the outrage towards RB Leipzig circumventing the system to its advantage. RB Leipzig used a loophole in the 50+1 rule to allow Red Bull to invest heavily due to the club having astronomically fewer paying members than other large German clubs (just 17 members at the time of purchase, most of whom had tangible associations with Red Bull).
Whilst this use of a loophole has long since been opposed by German football fans and RB Leipzig have remained the most hated club in the country, there is no question that the results have been successful. Leipzig rapidly rose through the tiers of German football thanks to this increased wealth and have regularly finished within the Champions League qualification places in the Bundesliga. The club's revenue has also risen astronomically, showing the potential that German football may be failing to capitalise on as a result of the 50+1 rule. Spending money to make money is a reliable approach and one that the German football authorities may consider allowing in order to close the gap on English football and allow its own top division to become known as more than just "Bayern Munich and friends".
CLOSER TO HOME
We've taken a look at many of the financial differences between the major European leagues on a global scale, but some of the most glaring differences exist domestically. It's worth investigating particular domestic television deals in place for the big 5 European leagues. LaLiga currently has a deal in place with Movistar and DAZN that will see the two broadcasters pay a total of €4.95 billion for the rights to LaLiga games from the 2022/23 season until the end of the 2026/27 season. This is a sum similar to the Premier League’s £4.8 billion deal with Sky, BT and Amazon, but for two seasons longer than said deal, therefore making the Premier League's deal far more valuable per season. The German Bundesliga signed a deal with Sky and DAZN worth €4.4 billion from the 2021/22 season until the 2024/25 season. This is once again similar to the deal for England's first tier, but for a season longer. Serie A’s deal with DAZN Italy is worth just €2.5 billion for three seasons from 2021 until 2024, with Ligue 1 netting just over €1.8 billion for the same period through controversial deals with Amazon and Canal+.
The differences are quite staggering and there are few signs that this gulf in revenue will be lessened anytime soon. This is one of the major motivations behind the pursuit of the European Super League led by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus. Due to UEFA absorbing a large amount of revenue generated by their continental competitions, there is a belief that Europe's biggest clubs could maximise their potential income via the European Super League. A number of questions remain with regards to how such a league would affect domestic leagues, but the primary motivation behind the idea remains largely financial. As things stand, the European Super League appears dead in the water, but the rationale has been made abundantly clear by the men leading the operation and it is quite telling that the big 6 Premier League clubs quickly left the planned league following near-universal outrage.
CONCLUSION
The European Super League may have failed (for now?), but I have sought to prove that perhaps we already have a Super League among us. In most leagues, only the true heavyweights can spend mind-boggling sums of money in the transfer market, but in the Premier League, those spending capabilities extend to a significant percentage of the competition. Innovative thinking, extensive planning and domination of foreign markets have played a major role in England's top division dominating financially whilst other leagues have been forced to look on as their biggest clubs have dominated in nearly every facet. One cannot say for sure what's to come next, but the current trend does suggest that what we're seeing now is likely to remain the norm for years to come.