The clubs across the Spanish top tier La liga and second tier Segunda Division are said to have incurred a €2 billion dip in total income during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns, according to a study done by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
As per the big four company, the financial assessment carried out by them reported that, even with salary cuts and certain other measurements taken by the governing body that alleviated the losses, the clubs from both divisions saw a collective revenue loss of over €2.013 billion since March,2020.
The 2019/20 campaign saw collective dip of €366 million in the incomes of both the top-flight and second tier divisions, with a 7% low than the estimated total of €5.167 billion (before the pandemic). As for the the current season, which is being played behind closed doors, the income for clubs has fallen short of 31% from the estimated €5.26 billion (without the virus), with a loss of €1.64 billion worth of revenue.
PwC estimates that the return of audience would mean a total of €825 million, as against a €1 billion mark transcendence if the doors remain shut with salary cut being uplifted as planned. Despite the figures produced by PwC, La Liga President Javier Tebas told 2playbook that the figures are not concerning, and that within a fortnight clubs could be ‘in a pre-Covid situation at a financial level’.
Figuring out the spheres where the clubs faced considerable revenue loss, it was reported by PwC that there was a humongous fall of 71% in the matchday revenue of the ongoing season, as against a 17% downfall in the preceding campaign. Though sponsorships saw an increment of 5%, advertisement fell 13% compared to the 2018/19 season. With vaccination drive taking place in Spain, fans are likely to return to stadiums next season, giving much needed relief to clubs.
Tebas, on an interview carried by Marca, said “We are prepared to have fans in the stadiums, but we must speak with the CSD (Spain’s sports council), on what dates and the number of fans. My hope is to have fans in the stadiums for the last few games this season.”
