FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOOTBALL FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE DUE TO POOR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF TOP ENGLISH CLUBS
London – 22nd November 2016. vysyble today announces the publication of ‘We’re So Rich It’s Unbelievable! – The Illusion of Wealth in Football’. “This is an extensive examination of the financial and economic performance of 7 of the top clubs in the English Premier League Clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – between seasons 2008/9 to 2014/15. In addition, and for reasons that become apparent within the report, we have also reviewed the performance of the Scottish Champions, Celtic.
The 42-page report assesses the ability of the clubs to generate or destroy value. Central to this enquiry is the metric, economic profit – a measure which combines information from the profit and loss account and the balance sheet and therefore considers all the costs of doing business. It is a metric which has been used by some of the world’s truly great value creators – for example; Coca-Cola under Roberto Goizueta, Gillette under the leadership of Jim Kilts and Lloyds Bank when the great Brian Pitman was at the helm. This measure provides a true reflection in the creation or destruction of value within club balance sheets.
Roger Bell, co-author of the report, commented: ‘Football and the media is fixated by revenue which to us is a misleading measure. We have demonstrated that there are serious underlying risks within the economics of the game at the highest levels because clubs are not creating value. By our calculations, they have destroyed £1.1bn during the period of analysis.’
The report also examines the domestic live TV rights contract and the economic performance of Sky and BT.
‘Our findings also show that there is further risk in the ability of the broadcasters to fund future TV contracts if the historical trend continues. This could negatively impact the top English Premier League clubs and the game on several levels with, in our view, the potential for significant structural change,’ said Roger Bell.
The report offers detailed analysis of each of the clubs’ economic performance together with that of Sky and BT. The report also discusses the potential impacts on the game arising from the identified economic risks.
vysyble is an insights and business information provider. We help businesses understand the world with trends, data and insights via detailed reports and graphical outputs covering a wide range of industries, sectors and individual corporate entities.
Ends.