LaLiga‘s 2020/21 economic report has demonstrated revenue losses coinciding with the pandemic, with a total league income of €3,818m – 24.1% less than the season prior.
According to UEFA, the decline in ordinary turnover amounted to €7 billion in the two seasons impacted by COVID-19. Including player transfer revenues, the total revenue erosion in European professional football as a whole added up to over €10 billion.
Moreover, in the LaLiga aggregate, it has been reported that there is ‘one club of particular relevance’ that is responsible for 58% of the losses in terms of EBIT, 56% of the losses in terms of net result (NR) and 26% of the gross financial debt (GFD).
However, although 71% of clubs have a negative NR, the majority of clubs have a positive EBITDA (62%) and, in the worst periods of the pandemic, 55% of the clubs reduced their GFD level during the season.
Overall, the league predicts that the current 2021/22 season will be ‘the start of the recovery period’, of which revenue will once again surpass the €4 billion income mark, as well as a forecasted increase of +180% in EBITDA and +66% in terms of both EBIT and NR.
Earlier this year, LaLiga Group International was launched to coordinate Boost LaLiga – the project that joins LaLiga and investment fund, CVC – which has an 8.2% stake in the new company.
The introduction of the group invested around €298 million, whilst €220 million went to clubs within Boost LaLiga and a further €78 million to strategic projects promoted by the new holding company.
