Man City, Liverpool, and Brighton top Interpath Football Finance Ranking

Manchester City, Liverpool, and Brighton have secured the top three positions in the inaugural ‘Interpath Football Finance Ranking’ for the 22/23 season, however, most clubs continued to generate financial losses.

Independent financial advisory firm Interpath has reviewed the latest financial accounts of all 20 clubs currently playing in the English Premier League and have created a ranking based collectively on a range of several metrics, including revenues and profit (both with and without player sales), debt costs, staff costs, other operational costs, and brand value.

The top six in the Interpath ranking are Manchester City (1), Liverpool (2), Brighton (3), Arsenal (4), Manchester United (5), and West Ham (6). The bottom three clubs are Nottingham Forest (18), Leicester City (19), and Southampton (20). 

Revenue generation: broadcasting rights still king

Across the Premier League, the report found that the primary driver of revenue was broadcasting rights, representing an average of 53% of revenues across the League in the financial year 22/23. That said, the top four revenue generating clubs have significant commercial and matchday revenue activities that reduce the reliance on broadcast, notably Manchester City with £341m of commercial revenues representing 48% of total revenues.

Cost to revenue ratios

Tottenham (46%), Arsenal (50%), and Manchester United (51%) had the lowest proportional staff costs (including non-playing staff) as a ratio of underlying revenues (revenues excluding player sales). In comparison, the clubs with the highest staff cost to revenue ratios were Everton (92%), Nottingham Forest (94%), and Leicester City (116%).

When considering operational costs, typically third-party costs linked to catering, security and other services, as a ratio of revenues (excluding player sales), the smaller clubs performed better with leaner operations, notably Bournemouth (15%), Crystal Palace (16%), and Newcastle (17%). The average ratio across the league is 28%. The clubs with the highest ratios were Ipswich Town (91%), Tottenham (43%) (although this includes the new stadium’s depreciation), and Southampton (34%).

Reliance on player sales – a changing trend?

The Interpath report also finds that Premier League football clubs are spending on average 75% of underlying revenues on staff and player costs. 19 out of 20 clubs were loss making for the Financial Year 22/23. Only Brentford recorded underlying revenues above their cost base. If player sales are included, 17 clubs were still loss making.

Following the 22/23 season, new and more onerous financial rules are being trailed, alongside the existing Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (‘PSR’). These may have already had an impact on clubs’ spending habits noting the 2024 Summer transfer window saw a decline of ~£300m in gross transfer spend and a record of £1.5bn received from player sales.

Robert Brophy, Head of Sports Advisory at Interpath, said: “The ranking system we’ve developed considers some of the most critical factors that impact the finances of Premier League football clubs and their ability to operate. A lot of focus in the market gets put on revenues, but that only tells half the story. Effectively managing costs of staff and operations is increasingly important as regulatory pressures to encourage a more sustainable model increase.

“Our findings suggest that clubs may become more reliant on player sales to meet PSR rules. The regulatory environment continues to evolve and the trialling of new rules to tighten spending as a proportion of costs will encourage a drive for efficiencies on and off the pitch. When it comes to tackling those costs, larger clubs will need to focus on reducing operational costs which have inflated in recent years, while smaller clubs have the task of increasing revenues and keeping tight control on player costs and amortisation on contracts.”

Kenny McKay, Managing Director at Interpath, said: “The existing PSR rules continue to put pressure on clubs to rein in costs and there is certainly scope across the League to do that. We’d expect the ratio of staff costs to underlying revenues, when excluding player sales, to be considerably lower than the current league average of 75%.

“Operational costs excluding staff costs are also high and there are usually efficiencies to be made there as clubs continue to streamline and further professionalise their operations. There are levers to be pulled to help clubs to reduce this ratio and better manage their obligations under the PSR rules and, in turn, drive more investment into improving performance on the pitch.”

To read the full report click here.

Notes to Editors:

Table

A more detailed table can be found in the report here