European football revenue topped €40 billion for the first time in the 2024/25 season, according to Deloitte’s annual review of the continent’s finances.
The market grew 6% to €40.2 billion, up from €38 billion in 2023/24, with the Big Five leagues contributing €21.6 billion. The same report showed Big Five pre-tax losses ballooning to €1.5 billion, and lead partner Tim Bridge forecasting that growth will slow across the next two seasons, with some leagues set to plateau or contract.
European Football Topped €40 Billion for the First Time
The 35th Annual Review of Football Finance, published by the Deloitte Sports Business Group, frames the €40.2 billion figure as the product of expanded and restructured club competitions on both the UEFA and FIFA calendars. New and expanded competitions from both confederations have added match inventory to the market. That inventory has driven matchday, broadcast and commercial revenues up across most Big Five leagues in 2024/25. The 6% market growth to €40.2 billion is the topline result.
So far, that inventory has sold. But the report’s projections warn the model is running out of room. Bridge said in the announcement that football “cannot rely on simply adding more content to deliver sustainable growth.” Deloitte projects that aggregate club revenue growth across Europe’s Big Five leagues will slow in 2025/26 and 2026/27, with some leagues experiencing a plateau or even reduction.
That leaves the headline record standing next to a warning: more content lifted revenue to a new high, and more content is what Deloitte now expects to saturate the audience and the calendar.
Premier League Revenue Climbs to £6.8bn, Losses to £948m
The Premier League remained Europe’s top-earning division in 2024/25, with clubs generating £6.8 billion in aggregate revenue, an 8% rise year-on-year, per the Premier League revenue and cost breakdown in the 2026 review. Commercial revenue led the way, growing 13% to £2.4 billion, with the league’s traditional Big Six accounting for 73% of that total. Matchday revenue grew 15% to surpass £1 billion for the first time. Broadcast revenue, by contrast, grew 2% to £3.4 billion.
Combined matchday revenue rose £133 million year-on-year in 2024/25, boosted by ticket price increases, expanded stadium capacity and more English clubs reaching the later rounds of European competition. Deloitte expects the Premier League total to exceed £7 billion in 2025/26, helped by an uplifted broadcast rights agreement and three English clubs reaching European finals. Growth at that scale would lift the league beyond the £7 billion threshold for the first time.
The cost side tells a different story. Aggregate pre-tax losses jumped from £135 million in 2023/24 to £948 million in 2024/25, the steepest year-on-year swing in the review’s history. Deloitte attributed the move to heavy transfer spending combined with the absence of significant profits from one-off player sales, which had padded the previous year’s result. Net debt across the division stood at £3.6 billion at the close of 2024/25, up from £3.5 billion in 2023/24.
Three English clubs reached European finals in 2024/25. The Premier League’s uplifted broadcast rights cycle starts in 2025/26, the single factor Deloitte cites for taking next season’s total above £7 billion. The 2025/26 review will be the first to capture a season under both the new broadcast uplift and the new transfer cost cycle.
How the Other Big Five Leagues Compare
The picture across Europe’s other elite divisions is uneven, with one league in clear retreat. The breakdown below sets out 2024/25 revenue and the year-on-year movement for each league. All figures come from the same 35th Annual Review of Football Finance, published by the Deloitte Sports Business Group. Conversions between pounds and euros use the average exchange rate of £1 to €1.19 for the period ending 30 June 2025.
| League | 2024/25 revenue | Year-on-year change | Key driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bundesliga | Surpassed €4 billion (first time) | 12% growth | Improvements in commercial and broadcast revenue |
| LaLiga | €4.1 billion | 9% uplift | Increases in commercial and matchday revenue; Real Madrid (€1.2bn) and FC Barcelona (€975m) together account for around 52% of clubs’ aggregate revenue |
| Serie A | €3 billion | 4% increase | Matchday revenue up 3% to €0.5 billion; Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan together account for 45% of total revenue |
| Ligue 1 | €2.2 billion | 15% decrease | €0.4 billion reduction in commercial revenue |
The Big Five combined to grow 6% to €21.6 billion, with the Premier League, Bundesliga and LaLiga pulling the total up while Serie A added a modest increase and Ligue 1 contracted. Strip out the Premier League and the other four grew less than the European market’s long-term average. Across the same season, Big Five aggregate pre-tax losses grew by €0.8 billion to €1.5 billion, even as the headline revenue total kept climbing.
Ligue 1 Stands Alone in a 15% Decline
Ligue 1 was the only Big Five league to print a revenue decline in 2024/25. Aggregate income fell 15% to €2.2 billion, down from €2.6 billion in the prior season. Marginal growth in matchday and broadcast revenue failed to offset a €0.4 billion drop in commercial income. Every other Big Five league posted a commercial revenue gain in 2024/25, leaving Ligue 1 as the lone outlier in the comparison.
The shortfall is large enough to drag on the Big Five aggregate, even as the Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga and Serie A all posted gains. Deloitte’s projection of plateau or contraction in 2025/26 lands hardest in France. The end of a previous broadcast arrangement and reduced sponsor appetite were behind the commercial drag. Matchday and broadcast lines grew only marginally in 2024/25.
For French football, that means the next two seasons are likely to be defined by what Ligue 1 can rebuild commercially. Deloitte’s 2025/26 projection sits on top of an already-depressed 2024/25 base. The €0.4 billion commercial shortfall that drove this season’s 15% revenue fall does not have to repeat for the league to print a second consecutive decline. Ligue 1’s commercial line is the metric the league will be measured on, and recovery will depend on the next broadcast cycle and the league’s ability to attract new commercial partners.
English Championship Records First Revenue Drop Since COVID
Below the Premier League, English football’s second tier posted its first revenue decline since the COVID pandemic. Championship clubs’ aggregate revenue fell 2% to £942 million in 2024/25, with commercial revenue down 10% to £273 million. The fall in commercial revenue was driven by a changing club mix in the division. Only three of the 24 Championship clubs reported a pre-tax profit in 2024/25, down from four a season earlier. Aggregate wage costs grew to a record £903 million across the same period, the second consecutive season of growth after four seasons of reduction.
Pre-tax losses at Championship level climbed 12% to £355 million in 2024/25. Bridge’s remarks on the EFL pointed to external funding as the lifeline for most clubs in the lower three divisions. England’s Independent Football Regulator, set up through the Football Governance Act, has been charged with strengthening financial sustainability at professional clubs.
WSL Revenue Jumps 39%, but the Top-to-Bottom Gap Widens
The Women’s Super League delivered one of the review’s cleanest growth stories in 2024/25. WSL clubs’ combined revenue grew 39% to £90 million, with all 12 clubs reporting revenue above £1 million for the second consecutive season. The growth came from commercial, matchday and broadcast lines all rising in the same year. Average club revenue rose £2.1 million year-on-year to £7.5 million in 2024/25.
- Commercial revenue increased by £15 million to £41 million
- Matchday revenue grew to £14 million, up 16% from 2023/24
- Broadcast revenue rose 11% to £11 million
- Average club revenue hit £7.5 million (up £2.1 million year-on-year)
The top four revenue-generating clubs in the WSL account for 71% of total revenue, up from 66% in 2023/24. The gap between the highest- and lowest-earning WSL club stretched to 16x, up from 13x the season before. Average revenue grew across the league, but the top end grew faster than the median. The top four clubs’ commercial lines have driven most of the league’s top-line growth in 2024/25.
Jennifer Haskel, knowledge and insight lead in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, called it a “critical juncture” for the professional leagues. Haskel said the women’s game shows “countless signs of rising marketability,” but progress is uneven, with many clubs struggling to keep pace as the top tier pulls away. Haskel added that the next phase of growth will require collective investment from clubs, partners and fans. The WSL’s challenge, as Haskel framed it, is to translate that rising momentum across the pyramid into a consistent fan experience.
Deloitte’s Forecast for 2025/26 and 2026/27
Aggregate pre-tax losses across the Big Five grew by €0.8 billion in a single season, reaching €1.5 billion. Deloitte’s full Annual Review of Football Finance 2026 projects that revenue growth across the Big Five will slow, plateau or fall in 2025/26 and 2026/27. The expansion of UEFA and FIFA competitions that drove the 2024/25 record is the same factor Bridge flagged as the limit of sustainable growth.
The expansion of UEFA and FIFA competitions has delivered financial benefits across Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, but football cannot rely on simply adding more content to deliver sustainable growth. An increasingly saturated market may not be good for players or fans, particularly if it weakens the on-pitch spectacle. This approach, without a collective mindset from all rightsholders, risks prioritising short-term gain over long-term prosperity.
Bridge accompanied the figures with a wider call for leadership that diversifies business models rather than adding more fixtures, with collaboration across rightsholders rather than unilateral calendar expansion. He framed European football as facing a more crowded market: US sports are openly considering moves to the European market. Competition from other entertainment businesses is intensifying alongside the calendar expansion Bridge flagged. Strong leadership, innovation and fit-for-purpose regulation were the levers Bridge named for the next phase of the sport’s growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did European football make in 2024/25?
European football generated €40.2 billion in revenue in the 2024/25 season, according to Deloitte’s 35th Annual Review of Football Finance. That figure was up 6% from €38 billion in 2023/24 and was the first time the continental market crossed €40 billion.
Why are Premier League pre-tax losses so high?
Premier League clubs’ pre-tax losses jumped from £135 million in 2023/24 to £948 million in 2024/25, the steepest year-on-year swing in the review’s history. Deloitte attributed the swing to heavy transfer spending combined with the absence of one-off profits from player sales. The previous year’s results had benefited from one-off profits on player sales that did not repeat. Net debt across the division stood at £3.6 billion at the close of 2024/25.
Which Big Five league saw revenue fall?
Ligue 1 was the only Big Five league to print a revenue decline in 2024/25. Aggregate income fell 15% to €2.2 billion from €2.6 billion the prior season. A €0.4 billion reduction in commercial revenue was the single largest driver.
What did Deloitte say about 2025/26 and 2026/27?
Deloitte projected that aggregate club revenue growth across the Big Five will slow across 2025/26 and 2026/27. Some leagues, Deloitte said, are likely to experience a plateau or even reduction. The firm’s lead partner Tim Bridge pointed to a saturated market for new match content. The firm also reported Big Five aggregate pre-tax losses of €1.5 billion in 2024/25.
How wide is the revenue gap in the WSL?
The gap between the highest- and lowest-earning Women’s Super League club widened to 16x in 2024/25 from 13x in 2023/24. The top four revenue-generating clubs now account for 71% of the league’s total revenue, up from 66% the previous season. Deloitte’s WSL analyst said the next phase of growth will require collective investment from clubs, partners and fans.
