The question arises, the day after the interview given by the new general director of Paris Saint-Germain, Victoriano Melero, to the daily The Parisian. To the journalist Laurent Perrin who asks him: “What is the impact of the reduction in L 1 TV rights on the club’s finances? »the manager replies: “We are losing 50 million euros (M€) this season. The impact is real, especially compared to our European competitors. It’s up to us to find how to compensate for this shortfall. »
That the new downward distribution grid has an impact on the finances of the French champion club, as indeed on all the elite clubs of French football, is real. That the shortfall for PSG is 50 million euros is possible. But is it only attributable to TV rights revenue from Ligue 1? Only he knows it. But there is room for doubt.
PSG earned €59.7m from Ligue 1 rights in 2023
This in a very factual way, by delving into the individual accounts of the clubs, which the National Directorate of Control and Management (DNCG) publishes each season. In 2023, at the last known balance sheet, Paris Saint-Germain claimed 165.666 million euros, under the “audiovisual rights” line. But this total includes all competitions, Ligue 1 alone earns the Ile-de-France team an income of 59.7 million euros. More than half of the revenue (61%) comes from its journey in the Champions League.
In detail, out of 165.666 million euros generated, 101.3 million were paid by UEFA for the club’s campaign (eliminated in the round of 16), in the Champions League, 59.7 million correspond to Ligue 1 and 4.6 million for other rights, such as participation in the Coupe de France or the Champions Trophy.
Thus, taking Victoriano Melero at his word, PSG would only earn 9.7 million from Ligue 1, knowing that Olympique de Marseille, its runner-up in terms of revenue produced in 2023, received 40.7 million euros. . However, this does not take away from the fact that Ligue 1 remains very fragile compared to the rest of Europe and that the new broadcasting agreements will increase the gaps even further.
