European football revenues break €40 billion, but growth is slowing, says Deloitte

European football surpassed €40 billion in turnover for the first time in the 2024-2025 season, but growth is showing signs of stagnation, Deloitte said in its annual review of football finance.

Football across the continent generated €40.2 billion in the season ending in mid-2025, up from €38 billion the year before. The ‘Big Five’ European leagues – the Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A and Ligue 1 – generated €21.6 billion of that amount.

But Deloitte analysts said cramming more games into an already packed calendar may not be the solution, with overall club revenues set to stagnate or even decline in 2025-26 and 2026-27.

“The expansion of UEFA and FIFA competitions has delivered financial benefits across Europe’s Big Five competitions, but football cannot rely on simply adding more content to achieve sustainable growth,” said Tim Bridge, principal partner of Deloitte ‌Sports ⁠Business Group.

“An increasingly saturated market may not be good for players or fans, especially if it dilutes the spectacle on the pitch.

“This approach, without a collective mindset from all rights holders, risks prioritizing short-term profit over long-term prosperity.”

PREMIER LEAGUE GENERATES THE HIGHEST REVENUE

The Premier League remained Europe’s highest-earning top flight, with clubs generating £6.8 billion ($9.1 billion) in revenue – an 8% increase expected to push them past £7 billion by 2025-2026.

“Revenues were boosted by an increase in the number of clubs reaching the final stages of European competitions, rising ticket prices and increased stadium capacity,” Deloitte wrote.

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However, the financial picture was mixed. Pre-tax losses shot up from £135 million to £948 million, driven by high transfer spending and the lack of profitable player sales that had softened the previous year’s results.

Elsewhere in Europe’s top leagues, the Bundesliga broke €4 billion for the first time with 12% growth, while LaLiga recorded €4.1 billion in revenues – with Real Madrid and Barcelona accounting for 52% of the clubs’ total revenues.

Serie A managed a modest increase of 4% to €3 billion, but Ligue 1 fell 15% to €2.2 billion, while commercial revenues fell by €0.4 billion.

CHAMPIONSHIP CLUBS SEE REVENUE DECLINE

England’s second-tier Championship clubs recorded their first drop in turnover since the COVID pandemic.

Total income fell 2% to £942 million, while pre-tax losses rose 12% to £355 million, with just three clubs managing to turn a profit.

“The cumulative financial position and worsening club losses across all three English Football League divisions underline a ‘continuing trend; one where external financing is now critical to liquidity in the vast majority of cases,’ Bridge said.

“Upcoming regulatory changes could support future improvements, but the focus must now shift to stronger commercialization and sustainable growth, or to a plan to close the gap with the Premier League.”

England established the Independent Football Regulator through the Football Governance Act to strengthen the financial sustainability, governance and ownership oversight of professional clubs.

The Women’s Super League provided a stark contrast, posting 39% revenue growth to £90m. This was the second season in a row in which all twelve clubs earned more than £1 million in revenue.

But the revenue gap between the highest and lowest earning WSL clubs widened to 16 times, up from 13 times the year before.

Published on July 8, 2026