UEFA estimates Covid pandemic cost Europe's clubs €7 billion

The Covid-19 pandemic has left Europe's clubs with a massive seven billion euro-crater in their bank accounts, a UEFA report concluded on Thursday.

The virus-disrupted past two seasons, with many games played to empty terraces, ended an uninterrupted rise in revenue over the previous 20 years.

With gate receipts decimated, sponsorship down and television rights receipts hit, clubs suffered a four billion euros hit in 2019-2020, and three billion in 2020-2021.

Lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus that has killed nearly 2 million in Europe and 5.69 million worldwide cut off the clubs' financial lifeblood - the fans.

Ticket sales dived by 4.4bn euros, while the report forecast a 1.7bn drop in sponsorship, and 0.9bn reduction in television rights.

These figures correspond with the forecast losses contained in UEFA's report in May 2021 which put at 7.2bn euros the loss for Europe's 711 top flight sides.

The latest UEFA study includes the consolidated results of these same 711 clubs for the year 2020, as well as the anticipated financial statements of 95 major teams for the year 2021, particularly marked by games played behind closed doors. 

These long months of empty stadiums have caused a drastic decrease in ticketing revenues, plummeting by 88 percent in 2021 compared to 2019.

Sluggish transfer market

UEFA also analysed the impact of Covid on the transfer market. 

"Revenues due to transfers decreased by 40 per cent during the summer 2020, January 2021 and summer 2021 transfer windows" compared to their original level, the European body pointed out.

European clubs spent 3.8 billion euros in the summer of 2021, compared to 6.5 billion in the summer transfer window of 2019. 

But UEFA also stressed signs of recovery have been