Decreased revenue and increased costs

In Robert Aldrich’s 1967 critically acclaimed The Dirty Dozen, 12 convicts stand a chance to save the Allies if they successfully complete a difficult wartime mission with the promise of pardons. if successful. The film, starring Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and Ernest Borgnine, was released to critical acclaim and became a box office hit.

In 2021, a new “Dirty Dozen” appears. Twelve football club owners had a chance to save football if they created a new competition with the promise of huge cash returns if they were successful. The European Franchise Super League (ESL) starring Florentino Perez, Andrea Agnelli and the Glazer family was released in a series of raspberries and was a resounding flop, although a sequel of some sort remained. can happen.

According to Perez, the Super League is needed to “save football” and “we don’t want the rich to get richer and the poor to be poorer”, which seems odd since the proposals would mean financial rewards of The competition will be focused on the pockets of 12 (although in theory this should expand to 15) founding members.

But it’s easy to mock Perez, the statements of someone who, by all accounts, seems unreliable, does he take the view that European football needs a reset and that it is facing an existential crisis?

Ask any entrepreneur about financial survival and success and they’ll tell you it’s all about revenue, expenses, profits, and cash. We have therefore looked at the clubs’ accounts for 2018-19, pre-COVID-19 and compared with their results since.

Income

The total revenue of the 12 Super League clubs as a whole has dropped by more than 12% in the wake of COVID-19.