Football is undoubtedly the most popular game of sports being played around the world, yet Europe is still the base of contemporary soccer; financial facts again proved it. European governing body UEFA recently scanned balance sheets of 237 clubs under its mentorship and found that these clubs have combined wealth of around €4.9 billion spread across long term tangible assets and guess who is leading the tally, yes, it is Arsenal who disclosed more than 500 million worth of tangible assets. These facts do not mean that soccer is played only in their territory, but it means this game is taken whole heartedly in this region that is why Euro clubs could pile a wealthy balance sheet. UEFA perused these details every year to find out if these clubs are following Financial Fair Play regulations whereby no club is allowed to spend more than what it earns. There is another surprising fact about these specifics, i.e., more than half of Euro clubs still use municipality owned stadiums without having their own one, while if we look at the top clubs in the tally they all have their own playgrounds which generate tons of money every year for them.
Notably, Valencia edges all the favorites and sits on the second spot while biggies like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Tottenham are after it. UEFA described the benefits of having long term assets for generating consisting income flow in a long run via a statement which said, “Of the 23 participating clubs from 11 different countries with fixed assets of €50 million or more, nearly all own their stadium. Long term investment diversifies the sources of club revenue. Clubs owning their own stadium generated 23% and 11% of their total revenue from gate receipts and commercial activities compared to just 14% and 7% for those clubs who rent/lease their stadium.”
The detailed and comprehensive report will be published later this year while interested facts are already out by the European governing body. President Michel Platini takes it as a success whereby he could successfully implement FFP despite widespread opposition in entire Europe, he added, “I am pleased to report that after some difficult years there are some encouraging signs that club owners are taking their responsibilities seriously with the first improvement in club profitability reported for many years as the final requirements of FFP enter into force.”