England's Premier League is by far the richest and most profitable soccer league in Europe, while Roman Abramovich's Chelsea paid some 170 million euros (US$209 million) in salaries, according to a survey of the 2003-'04 season released on Wednesday.
The 20 clubs in England's top division brought in total revenues of 1.97 billion euros, British accounting firm Deloitte & Touche said in its annual financial review of soccer.
That figure made the Premiership "the biggest football league in Europe by a record margin and represents 18 percent of the total 11 billion euro European football market," the report said.
The survey covered Chelsea's first full season under the ownership of Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich, and it showed. Chelsea's salary bill went up 110 percent and was "almost certainly" the highest in the world for a soccer club, the survey said.
Chelsea finished runner up in 2003-'04 and went on to win the title in the season just ended for the first time in 50 years.
The league's total wage bill came to 1.2 billion euros, with Manchester United second behind Chelsea at 115 million euros.
Excluding Chelsea, the total wage bill rise for other Premier League clubs narrowly dropped from the previous season for the first time.
The 7 percent hike was the lowest rise since 1992 and well below previous "astonishing" increases.
Total revenues for Premier League clubs climbed 6 percent to 1.97 billion euros.
Revenues were equivalent to almost 100 million euros per English club and over 50 percent higher than second-place Italy's Serie A.
Manchester United came in as the top revenue generator at 256 million euros, with Chelsea second at 215 million euros.
The Premier League beat European rivals in operating profits too, bringing in a record 222 million euros and topping its only profitable rival, the German Bundesliga.
‘BOWLINE’ AND ‘ARCTOS’: Roy Quaden was hit on the head by a boom, while Nick Smith was struck by the main sheet and thrown across the boat amid rough seas Two sailors have been killed in separate incidents in the treacherous Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, officials said yesterday, as a string of yachts retired in powerful winds and high seas. One of the crew members, 55-year-old Roy Quaden on Flying Fish Arctos, was hit on the head by a boom as the fleet raced down the New South Wales coast, race organizers said. The other man, 65-year-old Nick Smith, was struck by the main sheet aboard Bowline and thrown across the boat, said David Jacobs, vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “Unfortunately, he hit his head on the winch, and
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
Liverpool on Thursday powered seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favorites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against Leicester City, while Bruno Fernandes was sent off in Manchester United’s dismal 2-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Erling Haaland missed a penalty as crisis-torn Manchester City failed to end their dismal run with a 1-1 draw against Everton, but it was United’s travails and Liverpool’s remarkable run that took center-stage. Arne Slot’s side were shocked by Jordan Ayew’s early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalize just before the interval through Cody
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
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