Thread by @SwissRamble

As the Champions League and Europa League reach the semi-final stage, I took a quick look at the latest available revenue and wages data for those clubs still in the competition. Some analysis in the following thread.

The Champions League has the “fairest” financial pairings, as it matches the clubs with the highest and 2nd highest revenues, then 3rd and 4th.

However, the differences are still huge: Barcelona £612m is £150m more than #LFC £455m; while #THFC £379m is nearly 5 times Ajax £81m.

It’s a similar story and nether Champions League with wages. Barcelona’s £431m (excluding other sports such as basketball and handball) is again over £150m higher than #LFC £264m, while #THFC £148m might be low for a leading Premier League club, but it is triple Ajax £47m.

Some people may be shocked by how low Ajax figures are, but these are taken from the club’s 2017/18 annual report: revenue €92m and wage bill €53m.

These have then been converted using the Deloitte Money League rate of 1.1289 to give revenue £82m and wage bill £53m.

Based on the financials, the English teams should reach the Europa League final in Baku, as their revenue is around 4 times as much as their opponents: #CFC £448m vs Eintracht Frankfurt £103m; #AFC £389m vs Valencia £98m.

The differences in wages for the Europa League semi-finalists are also substantial: #CFC £244m is over 5 times as much as Eintracht Frankfurt £45m; while #AFC £223m is nearly 3 Times as much as Valencia £77m.

Money talks, so the outcome of the European semi-finals seems clear, based on the finances, but it’s still no guarantee of success on the pitch. As the late, very great Johan Cruyff once said, “Why couldn’t you beat a richer club? I’ve never seen a bag of money score a goal.”