Man Utd, Liverpool and Premier League rivals facing £7bn reality after UEFA warning

  UEFA's latest Club Licensing Benchmark Report has projected that coronavirus pandemic has cost football a total of €7.2 billion (£6.2b...

 

UEFA's latest Club Licensing Benchmark Report has projected that coronavirus pandemic has cost football a total of €7.2 billion (£6.2bn) in revenue, but the figure could rise to £7billion

A new UEFA report has warned that football clubs "are now operating in a new financial reality" as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

UEFA have published their latest Club Licensing Benchmark Report which has examined the impact that the pandemic has had on football.

The report has projected a "€7.2 billion (£6.2bn) shortfall in top-division professional club revenues" but the figure could rise to over £7billion.

It also states that the "pain [will be] shared equally among top and lower tier clubs."

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has explained that there is a need for "concerted efforts and a co-ordinated response throughout the football pyramid" because of the fact that "the whole football ecosystem, at professional, amateur and youth levels, has been heavily disrupted by the pandemic".

UEFA's latest Club Licensing Benchmark Report has projected that coronavirus pandemic has cost football a total of €7.2 billion (£6.2bn) in revenue (Photo by Richard Juilliart - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

In the report's foreword, Ceferin said: "When the pandemic hit in March, leagues had to shut down and were in limbo for between 10 and 21 weeks.

"Everyone involved in European football had to make sacrifices, in a spirit of respect and solidarity.

"The unity and respect shown by European football will be crucial to its recovery, as will our assessment of the financial damage caused by the pandemic.

"This report outlines how broadcast penalties, empty stadiums, reduced commercial revenues, and the collapse in transfer profits have led to a projected €7.2 billion (£6.2bn) shortfall in top-division professional club revenues, with pain shared equally among top and lower tier clubs, only partly compensated by cost savings.

"Competition structures that destroy value, offering to give with one hand while taking away with five hands, are certainly not the answer.

"The whole football ecosystem, at professional, amateur and youth levels, has been heavily disrupted by the pandemic.

"This requires concerted efforts and a co-ordinated response throughout the football pyramid. Solidarity, not self-interest, must prevail and will win the day.

"We are now operating in a new financial reality, and it is evident that our current financial fair play regulations will need to be adapted and updated.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has spoken about the need for "concerted efforts and a co-ordinated response throughout the football pyramid" (Image: UEFA/AFP via Getty Images)

"Financial sustainability will remain our goal, and UEFA will continue to work as a team with European football to equip our sport with new rules for a bright new future."

Speaking back in March, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters explained that clubs will have lost around £2billion in match day and broadcast revenue as a result of the pandemic.

"There have been very significant financial losses, not just in the Premier League but throughout the football pyramid," he said.

"Towards the end of this season, we’ll get towards £2billion lost since the start of the pandemic in match day revenue and broadcast revenue.

"We’ve kept the show on the road despite all of this. Clubs have continued to invest in competitive match day squads and also the Premier League has continued to make good its contributions through the pyramid and wider football.

"But I think the ramifications are that ultimately if there’s less money coming into football, then there’s less money going out in the short term."