There is big money to be made in sports nowadays, and one sport where there is plenty of money floating about is football. There is no doubt that football has become a big business, with the big teams basically being like a small company for their rich owners. In the following article, we are going to take a look at the money in football.
The Premier League is the Richest League in the World
There are five major leagues in Europe, and these are the English Premier League, the Italian Serie A, the Germany Bundesliga, the Spanish La Liga, and the French Ligue 1. There is plenty of money floating about in these big leagues, but it is safe to say that the Premier League is the richest of the lot. There is not a single football competition out there that has the same revenue as the Premier League. In fact, when it comes to world sports, it has the fourth highest revenue.
This league has some of the richest clubs in world football such as Manchester City, Chelsea, and Manchester United. This high revenue comes about due to the ever-increasing television rights. Each season, the likes of Sky Sports and BT Sports are happy to pay billions for the right to broadcast the matches over the course of the season. This means that there is £2.5 billion in prize money up for grabs at the end of the season.
Even Small Clubs Benefit From Large Prize Money Sums
Even the clubs that finish in the bottom three of the Premier League and are relegated to the Championship walk away with more millions of pounds thanks to the television rights. For example, Sheffield United finished bottom of the table with just 23 points, but they still earned a crisp £91 million. The two other teams that found themselves relegated were West Brom and Fulham and both teams left the Premier League with £101.7 million and 106.9 million. Everton finished in 10th place and earned a crisp £138.6 million.
What about the teams that finished at the top of the table? Well, Manchester City won the league and they received £153.9 million in TV money, while runners-up, Manchester United receive £153.5 million. Liverpool and Chelsea claimed the two remaining Champions League spots and pocketed £150.9 million and £148.3 million.
To put all of the above into perspective, Inter Milan won the Series A this season, and they claimed €23.4 million in TV money. While this is still a considerable amount of money when compared to other sports, it is still around a quarter of what the team that finishes last in the Premier League receives. The teams that finished in second, third, and fourth in the Serie A received €19.4 million, €16.8 million, and €14.2 million.
Champions League Winnings
The Champions League is the most prestigious club football tournament in the world, and every top club in Europe wants to win it.
As usual, there is decent prize money up for grabs in the Champions League, which is one of the main reasons that clubs are so desperate to finish in the top four of their leagues and qualify for it. Qualifying for the Champions League can be the difference between seeing quality signing walk through the door during the summer transfer window to enhance the team or watching your best players leave because they want Champions League football and the chance to win the biggest prize in club football.
So, does the team that goes on to win the Champions League earn as much money as the team that wins the Premier League? Well, you will probably be quite shocked to find out that the answer to this question is no. Chelsea were the winners of the 2020/2021 Champions League and pocketed €95 million, which is close to €60 million less than what Manchester City got in TV revenue for winning the Premier League.
Plenty Of Money Is Bet On Football
Football is the most watched sport with around 3 billion fans across the world. Not only is it the most watched sport, but it also the sport that the most money is bet on each year. What makes football such a great sport for football fans to bet on at sports betting sites is the fact that there are so many different markets available to put their money on.
When it comes to betting on sports, you will be hard-pushed to find a sport that has such a variety of markets as football - cricket is probably the only one that can get anywhere close to football sports betting. Think of an outcome in football, and we guarantee that you will be able to find a sportsbook, such as the quality ones reviewed on bettingonlinesverige.se that allow you to place a bet on it happening.
So, just how much money is bet on football each year? Well, back in 2013 it was estimated that about $70 billion was bet on football each year, and this included illegal betting as well. Fast forward eight years to 2021, and the global legal betting for football is worth anywhere between $110 and $120 billion. To give you an idea as to just how much this is, it is estimated that sports such as horse racing, rugby, eSports, and boxing rake in a combined total of $50 billion.
The Players Make A Lot Of Money
With all this money involved in the big European Leagues, it will not come as much of a surprise to hear that the players are raking in a lovely wage each year. For example, the wage of an average Premier League footballer is around £60,000 a week, which equates to an annual wage of just over £3 million.
The best players in the world get a lot more than this. For example, Lionel Messi is considered by many to be one of the best players in the world and this makes him £92 million a year. During the 2020/21 campaign with Barcelona, he raked in £67 million and earned an additional £25 million on top of this thanks to sponsorship deals with the likes of Pepsi and Adidas.
Cristiano Ronaldo is not that far behind with an annual income in 2021 of £85 million. The Portuguese star earns £51 million a year with Juventus in the Serie A and rakes in another £34 million thanks to his CR7 brand and being sponsored by brands such as Herbalife and Nike. He is the most followed sportsman in the world, and when he leaves a post on Insta advertising a product he can earn millions.
Then there is Zlatan Ibrahimović, who has a net worth of £90 million, which makes him the 14th richest player in the world. He is 39 years old and is still playing at the top level, raking in €7 million a year. He is one of the most controversial players in the sport because he is not afraid to say what he thinks, and this makes him a sponsor's dream as he is never out of the limelight when he is playing. In 2021 it was announced that he was working with the online gambling company Bethard that are based in Malta).
While this was obviously earning him plenty of extra money, it did not go down with UEFA and FIFA as they have a strict policy that players who compete in tournaments cannot have any link to betting websites. He was threatened with a 3-year ban for his affiliation with bethard.com, but in the end he was given a €50,000 fine, which is obviously peanuts to him.
If you did not have any idea as to just how much money is involved in the world of football before you read this article, we are pretty sure that you do now. Soccer is a lucrative sport for players, owners, and sports bettors.
