Despite the Corona pandemic, the Bundesliga clubs have paid out more salary than ever in the 2020/21 season. This is according to the latest DFL economic report.
According to figures from the report published on Friday, the 18 Bundesliga clubs paid a total of just under €1.57 billion to their players and coaches last season, a good €120 million more than in 2019/20 and as much as €135 million more than in the 2018/19 season, when Corona was not yet a factor for the clubs. In the 2nd Bundesliga, on the other hand, absolute personnel expenditure fell significantly – from just under €262 million to €219 million.
In the Bundesliga, the ratio that puts the expenditure for the Bundesliga teams in relation to the total revenue rose sharply in particular. This is because the total revenue of the clubs and corporations declined significantly in the same period. In 2020/21, the 18 Bundesliga clubs earned €3.47 billion, compared to €3.8 billion in 2019/20.
Ticket and transfer revenues decline significantly
The lack of ticket revenue in particular hit the bottom line: In the last pre-pandemic season 2018/19, the clubs still took in 520 million euros through ticket sales, in 2020/21 just 22.4 million euros. Transfer revenue also fell for the second year in a row.
“We are experiencing an unprecedented caesura. The time of almost self-evident growth seems to be over,” DFL managing director Donata Hopfen is quoted as saying in the league release. “Without a doubt, this will have a massive impact on our development in the coming years. “