Welcome to the eighth edition of the UEFA Club Licensing Benchmarking Report, which once again focuses on financial and off-the-pitch

developments in European club football.

In this latest edition of our report, the success story of football as a cultural and commercial force stands out once more. It shows that UEFA’s

regulatory role in financial fair play has not only steadied the ship of European football finances but also provided the framework for unprecedented

growth, investment and profitability.

This detailed report shows huge reductions in losses since the introduction of financial fair play, record stadium and capital investment by clubs, and

club revenue increases year on year. It also proves beyond doubt that financial fair play has turned around football finances – aggregate operating

profits rose to €1.5bn in the last two years, compared with losses of €700m in the two years immediately prior to the introduction of the break-even

requirement.

Just as gratifying is the finding that football remains hugely popular as a spectator sport. There was an increase of 2.6 million in European stadium

attendance last season, when more than 170 million fans went to league matches across the continent.

Of course, as the guardian of the game in Europe, UEFA must remain vigilant and take note of the less positive trends also highlighted in the report,

such as a return to high wage growth and the increasing concentration of sponsorship and commercial revenue among a handful of clubs.

Reflecting the objective of financial fair play to bring ever greater transparency to European football, this report provides fascinating, forensic details

on clubs from all 55 UEFA member associations on such diverse topics as foreign ownership, league formats and head coach stability. It also ranks

clubs on a number of financial measures.

We would like to thank all the member associations, leagues and clubs that contributed their financial information and the whole club licensing

network for their invaluable assistance.

We hope you enjoy the report.