Over recent decades, European football clubs have shifted from being viewed as community assets or personal ventures to increasingly sophisticated business enterprises. Revenue from top clubs has expanded far beyond ticket sales, encompassing long-term broadcast deals, global sponsorships, merchandise, and stadiums that operate year-round.

In this article, we explore how football’sincreased growth has provided an opportunity for private credit lenders able tounderwrite complexity and structure around specific assets or revenue streams. Ratherthan displacing traditional lenders, these private credit providers often workalongside banks to complement their offerings with longer-term, flexiblecapital solutions. As the sport continues to broaden its global reach andstructural sophistication, capital providers equipped to navigate the sector’scomplexities could be well-positioned to provide crucial financing support.
“Institutional lenders have become increasingly central to sports financing, bringing long-term, flexible capital to a sector that has grown in scale, complexity, and scrutiny. Private credit’s ability to invest across the credit spectrum, structure bespoke solutions, and support both club-level and stadium financings aligns closely with the sector’s evolving financing needs.” Josh Shipley, Managing Director and Head of Private Credit
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1 Club Report & Accounts. Exchange Rate of £1- €1.15 Assumed for Revenues Reported in GBP
2 Inter Milan Total Revenue – Club, Estimated Revenue Breakdown – Statista & Deloitte Money League
