Featured image credit: Real Madrid
Spanish LaLiga football club Real Madrid posted a profit of €11.8m (£10.1m/$13.3m) for the 2022-23 season, a slight reduction on the previous year, with its revenue rising from €721.5m to €843m.
The revenue figure, which excludes player transfers, is up 17% on the previous year and surpasses pre-pandemic revenues for the first time. The club posted revenues of €757m in 2018-19.
The €11.8m profit figure is slightly down on the €12.9m posted in 2021-22, when Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League and LaLiga. Last season, the club finished second in LaLiga and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, but did win the Copa del Rey, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
Real Madrid is currently in the midst of a major redevelopment of the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, with the work due to be completed later this year. The club’s accounts show that the accumulated investment in the stadium redevelopment project rose from €537.8m in 2021-22 to €892.7m in 2022-23.
Due to the ongoing renovation works, the Bernabéu’s capacity was restricted to around 63,000 last season. Stadium revenues in 2022-23 were 13% lower than in 2018-19.
Real Madrid noted that it has now posted a profit in each of the financial years between 2018-19 and 2022-23, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the renovation of the Bernabéu. The club said this has been achieved through cost containment and business improvement measures in all areas.
The club’s cash balance as of June 30, excluding cash from the stadium redevelopment project loan, is €128m. Real Madrid’s net debt, excluding the stadium redevelopment project, is €47m, which the club said in reality represents a “net liquidity position” as the sum of cash and debtors for transfers is greater than the credit balances for investments, bank debt and advances.
In May last year, Real Madrid sealed a €360m deal with global investment firm Sixth Street and premium experiences company Legends, which will lead to the formation of a new entity aimed at enhancing the non-football activities at the revamped Bernabéu.
The club estimates that essential works of the stadium revamp will be completed by the end of the year. The Bernabéu has been able to continue staging matches during the project, although during the COVID-19 pandemic, when fans were not permitted to attend, the club played at the nearby Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano to allow work to progress at the Bernabéu.
The amount of stadium investment accounted for in the 2022-23 financial year was €355m. The club has taken out an €800m loan for the project, with the first repayment, totalling €34m, to take place on July 30.
Real Madrid estimates that the increase in revenue from the full commercial availability of the stadium will come into effect from January 2024 and develop progressively. As a result, the club estimates that stadium revenues will increase “significantly”, with further rises anticipated in 2024-25 when the revamped Bernabéu is fully operational.
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