European Champions Real Madrid have emerged the first football club in history to surpass €1billion ($1.085bn) in revenue a season, according to the club’s annual account for the 2023-24 season.
The club’s revenue, excluding player transfers, reached €1.073bn ($1.16bn), representing a 27 per cent increase from the previous year despite ongoing stadium renovations.
Madrid also reported a profit of €16million ($17.3m) for the fiscal year, with a net worth of €574m ($623m) and net debt of just €8m ($8.6m) as of June 30, 2024.
The team claimed to be the first football club to exceed €1bn in revenue.
In the previous campaign, Madrid enjoyed substantial success on the field, securing the Champions League title, their sixth in a decade, along with La Liga and the Super Cup.
The basketball team also excelled, capturing the Spanish league title, King’s Cup, and Spanish Super Cup while also reaching the Euro-league finals.
Nytimes com reports that the club’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) surged to €144m ($156m), marking a 71 per cent increase from the previous year.
This represents 13 per cent of total revenues, up from 10 per cent previously. When including player disposals, the EBITDA for the 2023-24 year is €156m ($169m), comparable to the €158m ($171m) reported for the 2022-23 financial year.
The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium renovation continues to advance, with a total investment of €1.163bn ($1.262bn) to date as the final phase of the project, including the completion of the VIP area, events spaces, and other commercial ventures, is anticipated to be completed in the 2024-25 financial year and this is expected to drive further revenue growth.
Madrid say they are planning to build on their commercial success.
The upcoming season will see the introduction of Kylian Mbappe to the squad, who joined on a free transfer after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired earlier this year.
