UEFA president warns clubs against 'reckless' spending on player wages

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned that many European clubs are "compromising their economic sustainability" due to ever-increasing player wages which have risen on average by 16 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Europe's soccer governing body released its Benchmarking report, a review of the European football finance landscape, which highlighted how the sport is returning to normality after the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report said revenue across nearly 150 clubs is up by an average of 4.6 per cent while sponsor and commercial revenue was 13 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels after they missed out on seven billion euros ($7.49 billion) during the pandemic.

However, there was concern over operating costs going up by 11 per cent while finance costs have increased 18 per cent, with player wages being the main culprit.

"Despite the unprecedented turmoil of recent years, wages have continued to grow, rising on average by 16 per cent compared to pre-pandemic standards," Ceferin said.

"Top-division players' salaries, for example, have more than doubled during the past decade.

"And while this is not a negative trend per se, it is clear that many are compromising their economic sustainability in their reckless pursuit of success."

The report showed a 108 per cent increase in player wages over the last 10 years and they have continued to rise since 2019 despite the revenue decreases during the pandemic.

UEFA also said the January transfer window was dominated by English clubs who accounted for about 31 per cent of global transfer activity and a whopping 53 per cent of global transfer spending.

English clubs spent a total of 830 million euros ($887.77 million) in the winter window while earning