Leeds United earned more from commercial deals than any other Championship club in the 2016-17 financial year, according to figures compiled by Swiss Ramble.
The respected finance blogger reported on his personal Twitter account today that the Yorkshire giants put even relegated Premier League outfits Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Norwich City in the shade with their income from commercial and sponsorship agreements.
Leeds topped the division figures with £16million, ahead of Newcastle and Norwich (£15million), and fourth-placed Villa (£13million).
#NUFC commercial income almost halved from £28m to £15m, including central PL sponsors. Comprises commercial £12.1m & other income £2.7m. Only surpassed by Leeds £16m & Norwich £15m. Ubiquitous presence of Sports Direct advertising surely puts off other potential partners pic.twitter.com/Hke3XTNiS6
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) May 24, 2018
OPINION
With Newcastle the last of the clubs who competed in the 2016-17 Championship to publish their financial results, it is possible to now get a full picture of how they compared in key areas last season. Surprisingly, Leeds are top of the tree when it comes to making commercial money, even more so than Newcastle and Villa, who had been relegated after lengthy spells aboard the Premier League gravy train. But this was not as a result of owner Andrea Radrizzani using his experience and contacts to bring in new deals. In fact, the much-maligned Massimo Cellino was at the helm for the entirety of last season as he oversaw deals that produced virtually half of Leeds’ £34million turnover. To put the achievement in context, Newcastle earned £85.7million of commercial revenue in 2016-17 as their revenues dropped considerably following relegation. The north-east giants’ commercial income almost halved from the £28million figure of 2015-16. Well played, Massimo.
