© EuroFootball.com
"The earnings of players from English Premier League clubs fell for the first time in history. This can be judged from the annual report on players' salaries in the top English league for the 2004/05 season presented by the 'Deloitte' company.
The report claims that the Premier League is the highest-earning sports league in the world, with a total revenue of 1.3 billion pounds sterling including all 20 clubs.
Due to the rights to broadcast television matches, which are planned to generate 1.7 billion pounds sterling in income starting in 2007, player salaries could rise again.
'Manchester United' once again became the highest-earning club, with a total of 159 million pounds sterling, followed by 'Chelsea' at 149 million pounds sterling, 'Liverpool' at 122 million pounds sterling, and finally 'Arsenal' at 115 million pounds sterling.
The total season revenue for 2003/04 would have also fallen, but with the arrival of new "Chelsea" owner Roman Abramovich, the situation changed for the better.
"Over the past decade, we have seen a 20% increase in Premier League revenues each year," said Dan Jones, a representative of the 'Deloitte' company's sports business.
He also stated that recent research showed an improved balance between revenue and expenses, not only in England but also throughout Europe.
"Clubs being cautious with coaches, setting a certain budget limit, now seems less important than it was five years ago," added D. Jones.
Although player salaries accounts have been reduced since the first season of 1992/93, players in England still outperformed their colleagues in other European countries.
The total salaries in Italy, the second-largest in Europe, were 29% (516 million pounds sterling) lower than in England, while some of the strongest clubs in the Spanish league spent 444 million pounds sterling on their stars.
In relation to the English Premier League, clubs in Italy (2% less) and France (3% less) were able to reduce wage expenses.
However, as well as high revenue, the report also highlights the Premier League's uniqueness compared to other competitors.
In the 2004/05 season, clubs in Germany's 'Bundesliga' and Italy's 'Serie A' had the biggest financial gains, with increases of 17% and 16%, respectively, while the Premier League's financial growth was only 1%.
Nevertheless, English Premier League clubs remained ahead, having larger sources of income and attracting greater investments through various sources and clubs compared to their colleagues in other European countries.
The "Big Five European Leagues" account for 54% (a total of 7.8 billion pounds sterling) of the European football market.
English clubs are the most profitable in Europe, with 14 of these clubs having record revenues before paying taxes to the state in 2004/05.
The revenues of the English Championship league amount to £360 million pounds sterling, ranking sixth in Europe in terms of revenue.
Representatives from the 'Deloitte' company expect that English clubs will continue to lead financially worldwide and predict that revenues from television broadcasts will be spent on acquiring new players.
It is also stated that there will be further club investments to protect this wide business perspective.
Top European league revenues for the 2004/05 season: England - 1.3 billion pounds sterling; Italy - 0.9 billion; Germany - 0.8 billion; Spain - 0.7 billion; France - 0.5 billion."
