The challenge for Chelsea's ownership group is clear following the release of the 2023 Deloitte Football Money League. The club sits eighth in the table for the second successive year – but notably behind Premier League rivals Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool.
Chelsea generated £481million in revenue for the 2021/22 season in which fans returned to stadiums as COVID-19 restrictions were eased. Yet it was no ordinary campaign for the club, which in March 2022 was forced to operate under strict regulations after sanctions were imposed on former owner Roman Abramovich.
That resulted in the closure of the club's megastore at Stamford Bridge and other retail outlets. Their shirt sponsorship with Three was suspended for three months. And Chelsea were unable to sell any new tickets, which resulted in several home games being played at 77% capacity.
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Despite all the above, Chelsea's revenue for the 2021/22 campaign was still far higher than prior to the Covid pandemic, according to Deloitte. Revenue is expected to increase this season too – yet serious work is required if Chelsea are to close the gap on their Premier League rivals.
Manchester City (£619m), Liverpool (£594m) and Manchester United (£494m) all generated significantly greater revenue last term. The reasons why are myriad but Chelsea's lack of commercial growth over the past decade – in which they have twice been able to call themselves European champions – has played a part.
Manchester City keep top spot, Liverpool log the biggest jump, and Newcastle United joins the pack.
Find out more about this year’s 20 highest revenue generating clubs in world football in the latest Deloitte Football Money League: https://t.co/zYmgp7fpxF#DFML2023 pic.twitter.com/u3E0wxLn3h— Deloitte UK (@DeloitteUK)
That is something the ownership group – Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital – are focused on changing.
“We think we have an incredible opportunity to double revenue,” Clearlake co-founder and managing partner Jose E Feliciano said at the Bloomberg Investment conference in October. “We think we have one of the best media properties and sport properties in the world where we can get to a £1 billion of revenue.
He added: “Ultimately what we’re trying to build is a long-term, sustainable business that can increase in value significantly and that means a lot more than winning or losing on the pitch.
"That’s important as a brand, as a media property, as a team, as a club, but we’re also trying to establish and build and put in place the right building blocks to have a great business in three years, five years, seven years, and a lot of work we are doing behind the scenes is trying to do just that.”
Boehly has also voiced his desire to grow revenue, and not just from a Chelsea perspective. It was at the SALT conference in September that the American billionaire discussed – to the chagrin of many – how he believes the Premier League can learn lessons from American sports to maximise its earning power.
“Ultimately I hope the Premier League takes a little bit of a lesson from American sports and really starts to figure things out," he explained. "Why don’t we do a tournament with the bottom four sports teams, why isn’t there an All-Star game?
"People are talking about more money for the pyramid, in the MLB All-Star game this year we made 200 million dollars from a Monday and a Tuesday. So we’re thinking we could do a North versus South All-Star game for the Premier League, for whatever the pyramid needed quite easily.”
When asked if other owners felt an all-star game was a good idea, Boehly then added: "Everyone likes the idea of more revenue for the league. I think there’s a real cultural aspect, I think evolution will come.”
Boehly's suggestion of an all-star game – and it was nothing more than that – was quickly shot down by pundits and fans alike. Yet it highlighted his and Clearlake's willingness to explore new and potentially lucrative revenue streams, something which should benefit Chelsea in the years ahead.
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