Football Benchmark has published the European Champions Report 2026, the 10th edition of its flagship annual analysis of the business performance of domestic title winners across Europe’s top eight leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Süper Lig, Eredivisie and Primeira Liga). The 2024/25 season shows that domestic success in European football continues to be achieved under markedly different financial conditions, shaped by market size, participation in UEFA Club Competitions, and long-term strategic choices, rather than by convergence around a single financial model.
The analysis highlights that while revenue scale among Europe’s domestic champions varies widely, an evolving regulatory environment has forced greater cost discipline, meaning financial sustainability is increasingly driven by strategic decision-making and adaptation to market conditions rather than scale alone. Across ten editions of the Champions Report, this pattern has remained consistent, reinforcing that differences in operating models and market contexts continue to shape financial outcomes at the top of European football.
Andrea Sartori, Founder and CEO of Football Benchmark, said:
“Ten editions of the Champions Report reinforce a simple point: there is no single financial blueprint for domestic success in Europe. Clubs win titles while operating in very different market realities, and differences in scale remain significant even at the top end of the game.
What increasingly separates sustainable clubs from the rest is not how big they are but how well they understand their economic environment and translate that into disciplined decisions, on costs, squad investment and risk, rather than chasing short-term gains that may deliver immediate success on the pitch but create longer-term pressure on the business.”
FC Barcelona recorded the highest operating revenues among the eight champions at EUR 985m, narrowly missing the EUR 1 billion threshold. This marked a 29% YoY increase, pulled by a remarkable 44% increase in commercial & other revenue, mostly supported by the new Nike agreement, the consolidation of the Spotify partnership, and record merchandising sales reaching EUR 170m (+55% YoY). A leading group of champions from Europe’s largest markets followed, with FC Bayern München (EUR 861m), Paris Saint-Germain FC (EUR 837m) and Liverpool FC (EUR 836m) operating at a level that clearly distinguishes them in terms of revenue scale and commercial reach.
A significant step down follows for the other four champions. Galatasaray SK were the only other champion to exceed the EUR 200m mark (EUR 282m), although the club’s reported figure is influenced by Turkey’s inflation-adjusted accounting framework. SSC Napoli (EUR 179m), PSV Eindhoven (EUR 171m) and Sporting Clube de Portugal (EUR 148m) all operated at materially lower revenue levels, reinforcing the structural gap between champions in the largest leagues and those competing in smaller markets.
However, the report also highlights meaningful variation even within the Big Five leagues. SSC Napoli stand out as a clear exception among their counterparts in England, Spain, Germany and France, with lower revenues reflecting the financial impact of not participating in UEFA Club Competitions in 2024/25, while also underlining the club’s reliance on long-term recruitment and squad planning to remain competitive on the pitch.
For champions operating outside the Big Five, European competition income remains structurally important to financial capacity. In markets such as Portugal and the Netherlands, European participation often represents a material share of total revenues in a given season. Alongside this, player recruitment, development and trading remain core pillars of operating models in these leagues. PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Clube de Portugal were the only two of the eight champions analysed to record a positive net transfer balance over the past decade, underlining the importance of consistently generating value through the transfer market.
Profitability outcomes also varied significantly among the champions. Only a small number of title winners closed the 2024/25 season with a positive net result. FC Bayern München recorded the highest net profit (EUR 27m), extending an unmatched run of 33 consecutive profitable financial years and generating an aggregate net profit of EUR 285m over the past decade. Sporting Clube de Portugal (EUR 20m) and PSV Eindhoven (EUR 7.5m) were the only other champions to remain profitable. Elsewhere, losses persisted, although some signs of moderation were evident. Paris Saint-Germain FC reported the highest net loss of EUR 40m but showed significant improvement, with net losses of EUR 369m, EUR 110m, and EUR 60m in 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24, respectively.
