La Liga declare record numbers for matchday income and attendance, improvement in total income | OneFootball

La Liga have announced financial results that they are overall positive about for the 2023-24 season, as they go into the final stages of the 2024-25 season. The Spanish top division put up record numbers in terms of matchday income and attendances, while it was once again above the €5b mark for the first time since before the pandemic.

During a presentation on Tuesday afternoon, La Liga General Director Javier Gomez explained a series of new rule changes affecting the salary limit for next season, before being joined by President Javier Tebas to discuss the financial results over the last year.

La Liga hit a total of €5.049b in terms of total income, an increase of  €157m from last year (3.2%). The majority of that was made up of commercial (€1.288b) and TV rights (€1.508b). It returns La Liga to above €5b in terms of income, but still keeps them €16m short of their pre-pandemic record.

However there was a record in terms of attendance, with 16 million fans attending games in Spain last season, and the revenue from that hitting a record €716m. That is up €33m from last season, and stadiums were at a record 75.4% capacity over the last 10 years.

One area there was a dip was income from transfers: La Liga brought in €645m last season, down by €40m from the previous season. However after making a €309m surplus last year, La Liga’s clubs were at a €222m loss this year, mostly made up of Barcelona (€91m) and Sevilla (€81m), as per Relevo. Comparitively, La Liga made a net profit of €60m on players, as did Ligue 1. The Bundesliga made an investment of €56m, Serie A of €283m, and the Premier League remains in an entirely different place, with an investment of €842m, albeit less than half than what it was two seasons ago.

The results were viewed largely positively by La Liga, as was commented by President Javier Tebas and General Director Javier Gomez. These results of course take into account some highly fluctuating situations, including those of Sevilla and Barcelona, as well as others such as Atletico Madrid and Girona. There has been concern over recent seasons that despite positive financial results, La Liga are not spending enough money on transfers, as they struggle to compete with the Premier League. Tebas noted that they wanted smart investment, rather than just investment, as evidenced by the case of Antony, but did admit that TV rights deals were stagnating somewhat.