BERLIN, Feb 18 — The total turnover of the 18 clubs in Germany’s Bundesliga passed the €4 billion (RM18 billion) mark in 2018-19 for the first time, it was announced today.
The figure of €4.02 billion released by the German Football League (DFL) is an increase of 5.4 per cent on the previous season.
Compared to their main European rivals, the Bundesliga still lags behind the English Premier league, which made €5.8 billion in 2018-19.
However, the German league is only slightly behind it’s Spanish rival La Liga, based on recent figures.
The latest figures for the French, Spanish and Italian leagues are for the 2017/18 season.
For that period, the turnover of the 20 clubs in the Spanish league was €4.15 billion.
Both France’s Ligue 1, at €2.8 billion, and Italy’s Serie A, which posted €3.07 billion, were well behind.
Much of the wealth in Germany is made by defending champions Bayern Munich and rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern, who are bidding for an eighth straight league title, made €750.4 million in 2018-19, while Borussia Dortmund posted figures of €489.5 million for the same period.
Their combined figure makes up more than a quarter of the total revenue.
While lucrative TV rights have been the main factor in the Bundesliga’s continued boom, “new growth prospects are to be expected from digital innovations and the international sector,” said DFL CEO Christian Seifert. — AFP
