UEFA warns about the excessive players’ salaries

• José Félix Díaz

Updated 03/07/2025 – 08: 07cet

The latest Comparative Evaluation Report of UEFA Clubs offers an analysis of the European football panorama. “While most clubs seem to be managing the salary increases of players in a responsible way, other costs are rapidly increasing, which exerts greater pressure than ever on the operational margins. Clubs must remain attentive because there is still a lot of work to be done to restore the prior profitability to the pandemic. The interest in European football has never been so high, since attendance records have been broken throughout Europe, ”he says Aleksander Ceferin.

The salaries of the First Division clubs reached the 18,000 million euros at 23-24, which represents an increase of 6.5 % compared to the previous year, considerably higher before pandemic.

Out of control and PSG leagues, the one that pays the most

Many clubs strive but salaries are still unsustainable in several leagues, absorbing between 86 % and 88 % of the income of Belgian and Turkish clubs, and 98 % of Greek clubs. Italian clubs (from 83 % to 66 %) and French (from 89 % to 78 %), improve their data.

The relationship of the ten teams that have allocated the salary of the players in the 23-24 season is headed by the PSG with 658 million euros, SEndo by the City with 554, Real Madrid 505, Barcelona 476, Liverpool 449, Bayern 430, United 429, Chelsea 395, Arsenal 381 and Aston Villa 292, official UEFA figures.

Clubs have reported a combined operating benefit of 300 million euros in 2024. Eight clubs have reported operational profits from More than 50 million euros So far from 2024, headed by United, Arsenal and Real Madrid, while four clubs They have reported operational losses of more than 50 million euros (PSG, Chelsea, Ajax and Olympique Lyonnais).

Saudi Arabia Factor

The return to higher levels of transfer activity that generates high income means that the net transfer costs of 2.1 billion euros in 2022 have become a net cost of lower transfer in 2023 of 1,100 million euros. Thanks to the unexpected benefits of the trans summer sales of 2023 to the clubs of Saudi Arabia, Clubs have so far registered income record for transfers and lower net transfer costs in 2024. By the way, clubs increasingly enter TV and more by marketing.

The five-year transfer cost that affects the financial results of 2020-2024 is higher in the United (742 million euros), Barcelona (674 million euros) and Juve (637 million euros), while Chelsea occupies fifth place with net costs of 481 million euros. However, gross expense is a very different image, since Chelsea spent 1,996 million euros in transfers during the period, 70 % more than the next club with the highest expense, the City.